


of skateboards, bad boy images and adorable smiles

by mrslee19



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Eunhyuk is Jackson's bro, Human disaster!Marktuan, M/M, Mark is a disaster, Other, he's the big bro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2020-04-12 04:46:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 36,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19124878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrslee19/pseuds/mrslee19
Summary: Mark has been crushing on the small dude who's always wearing a black cap and is always coming to school on his skateboard for almost two years now. It's thanks to a certain Junior that Mark's finally able to have a proper conversation with his crush.





	1. Mark's tiny fish

**Author's Note:**

> [Unbeta-ed]+you can find this fanfic on AFF under the same title.

_**° September 2012** _

The moment Mark looks up from the screen of his cellphone (expecting to find a text from his best friend Jaebum who's late as usual), his eyes look up and then stay glued on a boy wearing a cap, who's doing some tricks on his skateboard, and he thinks  _woah_  (and maybe not only  _woah_ ).

It is not the first time in his life that he's seen someone skateboarding. 

In America, there are a lot of teenagers whose hobby is getting bruises after doing frontsides, and kickflips- -and  _woah, woah, woah_ , the guy is getting ready to do one. He makes a great spin before perfectly landing on his board. 

 _Ok_. So maybe he's good, and maybe Mark is quite impressed, so he keeps on staring. He passes the next ten minutes watching incredible grinds.

His heart skips a beat when an idiot, who's sitting on one of the benches of the park with his group, purposely throws an empty can of Coke to the guy and the latter, distracted, fails to do his next trick. His hat falls off his head as his back collides with the ground.

The idiot laughs it off along with those gorillas of his friends.

Mark, on the other hand, is running to help. He stops a meter far because the guy has already stood up and is yelling like there is no tomorrow. From his spot, Mark—he doesn't really check him out. He swears that he's just _looking_.

The guy looks around his age or maybe he's one or two years younger than him. He's shorter, and he's throwing curses in Korean—Mark can hear a thickaccent. _He has Korean features, though_ —and _fuck yous_  and  _motherfuckers_  in English—' _kay, so maybe he's grown up somewhere else. Why am I making all of these assumptions?_ (If Mark had looked at the others instead of only focusing on the guy, he would have noticed that nobody was intimidated by the outburst).

Despite the situation, Mark finds himself chuckling.

It is in that exact time, of course (because you guys do not know this, but he, Mark Tuan, is the  _luckiest_  person in the world. Note the sarcasm. Please, note the sarcasm, guys), that skateboarder-guy finally acknowledges his presence.

Mark can guess what the other is thinking.

If the glare that is being sent to him is any clue, he didn't make a good impression. There's a small voice inside of him that is suggesting him to defend himself: he's standing there because he wanted to provide  _help_ , but  _dammit_ , forget the voice _._

Once his eyes lock on the guy's, he has to blink twice.

To say that he is attractive is the understatement of the year.

Skateboarder has dyed dark brown hair, he's sweating so some strands are sticking to his forehead, and he's looking at Mark with black orbs full of hate. There is a nauseous feeling in Mark's gut. His gaze travels down, analyzing the loose shirt and his imagination does  _not_  start giving him pictures of sculpted chests, and Mark's fingers pressing on the guy's waist. 

 _Wait, what_.

"Move, jerk."

Mark doesn't need to ask who's he referring to.  _Oops, it's me_. He should really say something and clear the misunderstanding. "I—"

"Save it." Skateboarder—let's call him that. Guy is just so sad. And attractive guy sounds lame even though the adjective, or a synonym of it, should be really used because his nice appearance deserves to be pointed out.  _Handsome Skateboarder_  should be fine—walks past him.

Mark furrows his eyebrows as he sees Handsome Skateboarder (oh, yeah, it totally works) bend to pick up his hat and his skateboard, and Mark regrets not having thought about doing it himself.

The worst part of it is that the gorillas are all whistling and saying awful things that make Handsome Skateboarder first clench his jaw, then he starts preparing to leave on his board.

Without a second glance, he skates away and obviously he misses the part when Mark reaches out with the intention of stopping him and apologise ( _a sorry can make up for everything, maybe?_ ).

"Aaaaaaaaw," the group of idiot teenagers comment after witnessing the scene.

Unfortunately, Mark's death stare doesn't shut them up.

It doesn't take long before he receives a text from Jaebum who announces that he's finally coming.

With a chorus of insults and laughs, he leaves the park. Mark doesn't have any of those idiots in his mind while he walks to the building where he's going to meet his friend.

 _Skateboarder_.

He facepalms because he's not a chick and he shouldn't smile like a moron at the memory, but the guy's attractive and that heavy accent when he spoke Korean—Jesus. And he's small, but does he have the courage of a tiger.  _Ohmygod_ — _Handsome Skateboarder_  is a not so bad nickname, but  _Cute Skateboarder_  is  _perfect_.

He's in a total chick-flick moment, but can you blame him?

-

Mark meets him again a week later and,  _surprise_ ,  _surprise_ , Cute Skateboarder is a new student in their school.

It's so cliché that Mark almost feels like he's the protagonist of a romcom movie if it's not for the fact that the boy he likes doesn't hold the same feelings for him.

Mark gets rejected even after a  _grand_  gesture, and if there is something he has learnt from those movies his mother and his sister forced him to watch with them when he was younger, is that grand gestures conquer everything and if they don't, well, you've got to give up and move on.

There are a lot of fishes in the sea.

Mark's interest is completely taken by this tiny fish, but maybe it is not the fish for him and—he doesn't like this comparison. He really doesn't, so let's cut it here. Anyway, the point is, there are other people in the world and it is stupid wasting your time after someone who obviously isn't going to reciprocate. That's it.

Anyway, for the sake of the story, he's going to narrate what happened so you can understand. It went like this.

Jaebum was talking about the project they had to finish by Tuesday when they stopped conversating to each other as Jaebum bumped to the back of the person in front of him. He was protesting because you don't suddenly halt in the middle of the entrance when people are walking behind you.

But the student just looked at them with a blank expression. He held his hand up. "What's happening?" He asked, chin up as he tried to look at somewhere near the gates. "What's happening?" He repeated, question directed to no one in particular. Just like the first one.

"Huh?" Jaebum said dumbly.

Mark's neck snapped to attention the moment a girl screamed that ' _He's so cool'_ while some others started shouting to be ' _Careful'_. Curious, he tip-toed a lilttle, trying to look above all the other people's heads. He did not know when exactly Jaebum did it, but one moment he was there not seeing anything and a moment later, he was being dragged away by his friend who was tugging on his sleeve.

He nearly tripped when Jaebum left his grip on him. Regaining composure, he nearly  _choked_  on his saliva because there _he_ was.

The guy who had been populating his thoughts during night these past seven days, also known as Cute Skateboarder. He had his fellow-board tucked under his arm while he was trying to read what seemed like the map of the school. His expression was painted with deep concentration.

He was there, in the middle of everyone's attention—people had literally formed an imperfect circle around Cute Skateboarder, and he looked like he wasn't even aware of it.

At some point, Mark saw him mumbling to himself, scratching his chin, and Mark couldn't even remember the last time he genuinely surprised himself (there was this time Mark volunteered on taking his classmate's duty that day—cleaning the classroom. It was probably because Sunny didn't feel well and nobody, not even her friends, was going to replace her), but this was a very big step. 

"Hey." Mark's voice did not echo because it was an open place. If they had been inside a building, it would have echoed. Likely. There would have been a high percentage that it would have hap— _Okay_.  _Why am I rambling?_ Focus.  _Don't get nervous_. But he already felt like he could melt any time. He knew that all the students were looking at him at this point.

He could deal with a small group of nothing more but five people in the park, but around forty people?

 _Calm down, Tuan_.  _Your fault for being so earnest in knowing the guy_. Guy who had tilted his head to the side. A frown was getting its way down his features.

"I can walk you to your class. I know the school pretty well." He tried again with a lame joke because he's a masochist, okay? 

Even before meeting Mark's gaze, Cute Skateboarder was losening the confused expression and a smile was blossoming on his face.

_Are you even legal?_

"What?"

And then he was staring at Mark who closed his eyes because,  _damn it_ ,  _really_ , he said that out loud. Thoughts were supposed to stay inside his head. Why couldn't his mouth cooperate? 

"I mean—" He did not have the chance to complete his sentence because the other was squinting at him.  _Oh, he's going to remember me_. And that was not good. This wasn't going to end as Mark wanted if he did not act fast. So, he blurted out, "You and I met at the park," and that was the end of his explanation because he's  _clever_. He did not add that Cute Skateboarder misinterpreted his chuckle. Mark was not making fun of him. 

Cute Skateboarder straightened his shoulders and for a small fraction of time, Mark thought that he was considering the idea of beating him. "You are one of those dipshits." He drawled, tone dangerous and now he was so  _damn_ tense. "Fuck off." 

Mark took a long breath. "Look—"

"Don't look me." Cute Skateboard spat, waving the map in the space between him and Mark. "Who needs the  _help_  of a  _motherfucker_?" The way he mixed English and Korean together was nothing cute though.  ~~It was more like, uhm, sexy.~~

"I was trying to help you at the park," Mark finally said the truth. Partly.

"Right." The other replied, putting his skate down to fold his arms on his chest. "Explain to me how laughing at me was any help." He demanded stubbornly. 

"Huh." Mark found himself not being able to do what Cute Skateboarder was telling him to since spilling that it was because he found him cute was inappropriate at the moment, and he had the sensation that if he said that, Cute Skateboarder would use his skateboard to kill him.

"Is that so?" Cute Skateboarder broke the silence. "Never help me again then, motherfucker. Adios."

And that was how Mark got humiliated twice by the same guy in less than ten days. First, in front of a small group of idiots and then, in front of the school.

-

His tiny fish doesn't want him.  _Fine_. Mark will look for a better one.

-

_**°May 2014** _

"Please?" Mark pushes his lower lip out. He always tries to use his trademark pout because even though Jaebum is almost immune to it, there are rare days when Mark succeeds, and he is really hoping that this could be one of those.

From Jaebum's unimpressed expression and the way he's raising this eyebrow and his look is screaming _judging you so hard_ , Mark knows that his pout won't get him the seat next to the window.

"Mark." Jaebum sighs, exasperation written all over his face. He's now giving Mark the  _what should I do with you look_  which is uglier than the previous one.

Mark can read him like an open book because he's known the guy since elementary (Jaebum was this kid who offered Mark a cookie that he put on his desk. Mark promised to eat it after he went to the bathroom, but the cookie was nowhere to be found once he got back because apparently it sort of singsonged to Jaebum to devour it.  _And he should accept to be judged by someone so lame like Lim Jaebum?_ Please).

He can predict that a question is coming.

Not a question, but  _the_  question.

Jaebum pinches the bridge of his nose. "I thought you said you were over  _him_?"

Mark coughs.

He walks awkwardly to sit at the desk next to— _his_. Because the damn desk next to the window has been his from the second day of the year (when he managed to have a deal with Jaebum: the person between the two of them who gets to school earlier can take it for the rest of the day. And Mark had always won until today.  _Damn it_ ).

"Mom made me buy milk at the mini-market this morning." He informs Jaebum because he needs to know. "If it hasn't been for it that chair and that desk would have been  _mine_."

Jaebum shakes his head. "You're not changing the topic." He lets out another sigh. (Mark swears that Jaebum sighs too much for a teen. And he scowls too much too. He's not doing it at the moment.  _Yet_ ). "I really don't get you."

"Well, I am not getting what you're saying either, so we're even," Mark spits out. He hopes that his attempt to get himself out of this interrogation about his love life will die like right now. It takes very little—Jaebum scowling (told ya guys that he was going to do it)—for Mark to sag his shoulders in defeat.

"Why are we having this conversation at this hour? No, wait, don't answer. We're not having—" His friend draps his legs on his lap, preventing Mark from getting up (and Mark may or may have not—you will never know, guys. Never—tried to shove those limbs off of him, and he may or may have not failed, but this is another thing you will never know).

"If we take away his skateboard," Jaebum eyes Mark seriously, "what's so  _interesting_  about him?" He drawls, accentuating the adjective with his voice and by pressing his forefinger on the desk.

Silence falls between them.

They stare at each other.

Jaebum is giving him a thousand of different looks, starting from the  _tell me, I'm your friend_  look to the  _just say it, dumbass_  to the new entry  _Mark, he's a fucking douche_. Which Jackson (Wang Jackson. Don't know if you guys remember him, but if you go back like—two years back from now, you'll find someone called Cute Skateboarder.  _Very Cute Skateboarder_ ) is not.

There are rumors circulating around the school that say Mark's crush goes out with people and then dumps them the very next day. Just like that. Without giving his ex-partners any reason.

 _Heartless_ , girls say though some of them still wish to be the player's next victim. Twinks ( _woah_ , Mark's definitely not explaining the meaning of this word. You guys know how to use Google, right? Then, do a little research) try to be strong and to " _not be lured by the bad boy image and aura that the guy emanates"_ , but it's hard and many fall. 

And then there is Mark, who once vowed to himself that he was closing the chasing Jackson Wang book to look for a nicer and better person, but, like the others,  _dammit_ , _if it's difficult_.

"He's arrived, you know. Skateboard, black cap and  _assface_  as usual." Jaebum says tightly.

Because he's Mark's best friend, and because he still recalls the #5 in the Top 10 of the school's biggest turn down in 2012, Jaebum— _well_ , Mark does not think that he hates Jackson.

It would be stupid and immature for Jaebum to hate someone who he does not even know based on a single episode, he's not like that, and Mark's angry words (he said a lot of things after Jackson stabbed his dignity and pride) that he found himself not really meaning after he calmed down. Jaebum doesn't even care that Jackson's also known as the troublemaker of the school. He has started cornering Mark and telling him to stop having fantasies ( _I don't have fantasies!,_ he had protested. Ok. Maybe he did. And he still does.  _Maybe-—_ it's a key word _._  Confirming something like that is fucking embarassing. _Can everyone agree to this?_ ) after listening to the first of those rumors.

He's being a good friend.

Mark appreciates the concern, but—

"You taking my seat to goo goo eyes and drool at him from the distance?" It's the mean jokes that he can't stand.

"Shut up."

Jaebum blinks innocently. "You're not? Isn't that why you wanna be here?"

Mark rubs a hand on his face. "Seriously, zip your mouth." He mumbles. As if he needs someone to remind him (it's not Jaebum's intention, he knows, but still) that he is the most pathetic individual in the entire world.

-

There are certain rules that Mark has established in order not to discourage himself, and mostly, because he does really need to convince himself that he is doing nothing wrong. As time passes by, those rules become more and more important to the point that sometimes Mark clings to them like mantras, and there are rare times wen he even holds them as universal truths.

One, say whatever you want, but looking for the person you like to watch him from afar is not creepy. His sister Laura (only God knows why Mark told her) says otherwise. She always looks at him disapprovingly during dinner, but,  _hey_ , Mark has already decided that it's... _not_  cool. But fine. It's fine. (She called him a loser once, but it takes one to know one, doesn't it? _God, I feel like I'm twelve_ ).

Two, Mark is not a stalker because a) it takes being creepy to be a stalker. Read point number one. b) If Mark was a stalker (who he's not, but let's  _pretend_  that he's one), he would be the most good-looking stalker because he has looks and he has admirers and people leaving letters with his name written on them to prove it. Which means that Jackson Wang should feel  _honored_  to be followed by Mark Tuan.

Three, he is not cocky. Not at all.

Spotting Jackson in the canteen is one of the easiest things.

Jackson is the typical badass looking dude who wears caps even when he's inside the school building. He has one of his earphones tucked in his ear while the other dangles. And seriously Jackson Wang stands out because he  _just does_  with his uniform unbuttoned to reveal a black shirt and his quite worn out Nike, and because students  _make_  him stand out.

They trail after him with their heads and eyes,and they often take a step back when Jackson is near them.

But even on those times when the dude is quietly sitting on his table with some of his friends, Mark finds him easily.  

However, today, Jackson is on the bleachers and Mark can't say for sure if he is watching the track team ( _is that Jongdae running with Chanyeol?_ Must be one of those crazy stupid mini competitions the two have during breaks) or if he is simply listening to his iPod.

Once every month, Mark finds him like this.

All alone. 

He is not always on the bleachers.

Sometimes he's at the lockers, sitting there with his back on the 768 (Jackson's locker), his precious skateboard and the music. He's there humming along to a song. And he's so fucking lonely.

If they were friends, Mark would not hesitate to keep the guy company or to simply ask him what is bothering him. You don't have that look—like the world is ending if everything's going on smoothly.

 _But we're not_. Mark is on the grass, legs up to his chest. He's pressing his chin on his knees.

 _Crushes are worst than nightmares. 2/10 would not recommend_. He smacks himself in the forehead.

He's so absorbed in self-harming himself that he doesn't hear someone calling him.

Mark jumps a little when a hand squeezes his forearm.

"Fuck." Mark feels the palpitation of his heart in his throat. He is inhaling and exhaling quickly. He has his fingers digging on the land, pulling some blades of grass.

Short black hair, amused eyes, quite tall guy. Mark recognises him as one of the guys Jackson hangs out with at school.  _Junior_. Or, something like that. He's not sure about the name because he's never got very interested in knowing the members of Jackson's group.

More like, he does not want to know who are the priviledged guys because  _honestly_? He's a little bit jealous.

_He's Jackson's classmate, isn't he?_

"You've got some nice reactions there," guy with quite unknown name comments, "anyway, have you by any chance seen a guy this tall," he shakes his hand near his eyebrow, "with a dog face, cap and all that crap—that smells like apple juice?"

"He smells like apple juice?" Mark questions him, eyes wide. Meanwhile his brain is categorizing this new info as  _of great significance_ because the guy hasn't said any name, but Mark can _feel_ who he is talking about. (If you do not understand that, it's because nonsense things like this make sense only if you're in love, or have a crush. Sorry).

 _Wait._ _How the fuck someone smells like apple juice?_

"Yeah, Wang boy always drinks it. His breath's apple. Delicious, really." The other deadpans. Then he's smiling, biting his lower lip and Mark has no idea if he's being tricked or not. "I'm looking for Jackson Wang. Does the name ring a bell?"

 _Of course it does_. Mark has two options: he can fake and say ' _oh, look, he's there!_ ' or simply pretend that he hasn't seen the guy. He can't explain why but the second choice sounds safer. "Err, no, really. I have not seen him anywhere."

"Oh." The guy snorts. He stays silent, and Mark watches him eying the building. "I'll see if he's come back in the classroom then."  _Classmates. Yeah, they are_. A flashback of this guy and Jackson entering and exiting section B appears in his head. "Well, thanks, man. See you!"

"Bye," Mark says, and as the guy runs away to look for his friend, guilt absolutely  _doesn't_  make him gnaw on his lip. He absolutely doesn't spend time thinking that this was the first time he heard of Jackson's friend looking for the guy and the guilt (why guilt? it's not like he did something so wrong, right? Whatever, don't ask him) doesn't double up when he looks at Jackson there with nobody with him.

_Fuck, really._

-

"Where have you been?"

Mark does not spare Jaebum a glance. "Outside. Fresh air."

He hears his best friend sigh beside him. "You're impossible."

-

Mark has imagined several times being caught when he started this thing about Jackson.

At the beginning, he thought that Jaebum was the one who would get him busted. But Mark is aware that his best friend knows, yet surprisingly, Jaebum hasn't said anything about it (you saw, guys). He has never mentioned it either. Mark doesn't know the reason. One thing for sure is that he doesn't have Jaebum's approval, but  _that_  is  _not_ essential. 

(If he thinks hard, he'd remember Jaebum telling him that it is weird and he's just hurting himself.  _What_ ).

Then, he has started imagining being caught by Jackson himself and—that's _shit_. He's imagined Jackson yelling and even kicking him on the balls.

He's imagined getting caught while he's doing the following, but  _this_?

Nah, definitely, nothing like this.


	2. Mark's very lucky day

Mark believes that bad things happen everyday.

There is not a thing such a perfect happy day because there has to be at least one moment in a day that doesn't go as you wish- -it is not always something big. Sometimes it is just a small detail that you forget the day after, but sometimes it is as catastrophic as the end of the world.

The end of Mark's little safe bubble happens on a bad day.

 _Of course_ , it's on a bad day.

Mark believes that bad days are called like that because bad things happen from the very beginning. From at an early hour- -sometimes even from the exact moment you open your eyes ready (or not) for a new day, you've got this terrible feeling that this- - _this day_ \- -is going to be one of the worst days (or the worst day) of your life. 

The point is bad things happen everyday, but mostly on bad days and, unfortunately, they don't shoot in the ass only bad people.

Bad things are unfair fuckers.

You can be the sweetest man alive- -you can be that one man who helps grandmothers cross the road- -you can be that teacher who does not give a lot of homework to your students because you understand that they are supposed to enjoy their lives before they enter the adulthood society and forget about parties and alcohol and getting laid- -you can be that perfect student who chooses not to smoke nor to drink because it is not healthy and that perfect teenager whose hobby is not procrastinating until there is only one minute left- -you can be the president, a national hero, a  _superhero_  even (guys, if you do not have at least the slightest Marvel culture and you don't know how Anthony Stark's life can go from the _genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist_  life to  _the big man in a suit of an armor who needs to prove everyone that he deserves being part of the fucking Avengers_ life, then you and Mark won't get along), but bad things will happen anyway. Actually, someone said that the better person you are, the worst things happen to you (quotation from  _Mark Tuan_ ).

Seriously, life is a bitch.

-

Mark has looked everywhere.

He has pulled out all the family's clothes in the laundry and he has looked under his bed and inside his wardrobe at least three times. He has tried asking for his mother to come and search it for him, but each time a shout of Mark leaves the room, his mother's answer arrives immediately in the form of a loud and simple no.

He pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue.

Looking around at the mess in his room ( _it looks like a freaking hurricane flew here_ ), Mark grimaces at the pair of dirty shoes that he's involutarily thrown on the bed.  _I freaking, no, fucking. I fucking sleep there_. He rakes a hand through his hair and breathes.Very.Slowly.

"Mooooooooom! I need to go to school in- -" He glances at the alarm clock on his bedside table.

The short arm is pointing at the number seven while the longer at ten.  _Fuck_. He scans his bedroom, eyes jumping here and there, looking for his phone because he needs to invent an excuse in order not to have Jaebum beat him two times in a row. He _cannot_  afford to lose the seat again.

"Moooooooooooom! I can't find my shirt uniform! And my phone is missing too. Care to do some of your magic and make them reappear?"

"Ask your brother!" is his mother's reply to his request.

Mark rolls his eyes.

He does not even know why he tried again.

 _'Cause I'm desperate_. Seriously, where is his phone? He eyes the pile of sweaters on the floor and the amount of jeans and other pieces of clothing that he has taken from his wardrobe and the now single socks that were once neatly arranged in his drawer. Well,  _maybe_  he  _doesn't_ need his mother to see this.

But then, again, if she doesn't walk the stairs and clean the mess (because Mark won't be able to do it. No. He's already too late), how will he find his precious belongings? 

"Oh, my god."  _Mom is a genius_.

Mark rushes out of his room and goes straight to Nichkhun's without bothering to knock first because, what are manners when your best friend is threatening yet again to take your place and shove you in a seat that does not allow you to lean your side at the window and contemplate the blueness of the sky and, more importantly, a seat from which you can't casually take a look at Jackson on his skateboard while your eyes  _briefly_  look at the other students who are running in order not to get scolded by the teachers because they're late?  _Just like I am_. 

Because Nichkhun is taking an engineering course- - meaning that he's a college student - -he sleeps in the morning since his lessons start at eleven on Mondays and Fridays and at three for the rest of the week.

His brother is surrounded by a fortress of pillows and books and he's sleeping heavily- -Mark can hear him snore. (Actually, at nights, when his parents are out and so is his sister, Nichkhun and Mark usually stay in the living room and his older brother usually falls asleep in the middle of a movie, resulting to either Mark turning off the television or Mark turning Nichkhun to the other side because you really can't relax watching anything with him like that: Nichkhun snores _too loudly_ ).

Luckily, Nichkhun's cellphone is always placed somewhere near him. He texts his girlfriend like every fucking minute of the day and Mark is thankful for that because he manages to spot it quickly.

So he borrows his brother's cellphone to call his before he starts coming back to the chaos of his bedroom, only to exit again because the ringing tone isn't coming from there.

He walks back and forth and  _nothing_.

Chester Bennington's singing the chorus of In the End _._  Mark can't still tell where the hell he has forgotten his phone. He wanders in the two rooms until he stops at one spot and tries to listen carefully.  _I've been looking in the wrong places maybe_.

Mark closes the door of Nichkhun's room.

_I tries so hard, and got so far_

_But in the end, it doesn't even matter_

Mark closes the door of his room.

 _I had to fall to lose it all,_ his favorite singer says.

"Where the fu- -" Mark starts, but then his eyes fall on the only open door and without thinking twice, he walks to the bathroom.

It is there _._

 _Finally_. He can hear his idol's voice louder and louder. He steps inside and he can see his cellphone vibrating with the screen light flashing in the sink.

His face crumples as he first ends the call to pick up his phone only to find out that it is covered with what seems like fucking cream. And when Mark touches the disgusting product and brings it to his nose, he grits his teeth.  _Laura and the shit she puts on her face to be able to talk with that crappy-head of his boy-toy without scaring him._

"I am so going to teach her a lesson," he murmurs, taking some pieces of toilet paper and cleaning his cellphone. It doesn't go all away. When Mark's finger unlocks it, he can feel the oily essence of the cream and he supposes that it will never completely go away because  _girls' make up, girls' things, girls' everything_ last forever _. Like Laura's eyeliner_.

**JB** ( _1_ )  **8.07 am**

_And the champion is........me!_

_Who was the one who said that he was going to be at school at 7.30? Was it you?_

_Probably not, right, dude? Cause I don't see you here._

 

**JB**  ( _2_ )  **8.15 am**

_Hey, is your sorry ass sick?_

 

Mark quickly types a reply.

 

_You wish._

**JB**   **8.23 am**

_Then what the hell happened? The bell's gonna ring in 8, you better run._

 

**JB 8.23 am**

_Where are you?_

 

_Still at home. Couldn't find my fncking cellphone._

 

_Aren't fucking iPhones supposed to correct words?_

 

**JB 8.24**

_Wait thirty seconds tho, 'cause your crush is arriving like right now. Oops._

 

_Well, my bestfriend is a son of a bitch. Cool._ He can see the other grinning just by reading his text. Mark is  _this_  close to punch the wall, but that is not his priority at the moment.

So, after a delicate pause in which he curses against Jaebum some more, Mark sprints to deposit Nichkhun's cellphone at his feet (and if he hears the rustling of the blanket and his brother prounouncing his name and throwing a pillow at his direction because he's made noises, Mark doesn't care).

He grabs his rucksack and runs the stairs. He has his hand on the doorknob, ready to go, when his mother calls him.

"Yes?" Mark huffs.

His mom must have woken up in a good mood because she does not pay attention to her son's attitude. Instead, she smiles. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Mark stares at her with a blank expression before snapping his fingers as the realisation hits him. "You do not actually deserve a kiss from me, mom. You did not rescue me up there." He says, but he leans in for a peck on the cheek.

Only for his mom to tap him on the nose affectionately. Mark frowns. "You haven't had breakfast yet." She looks at him knowingly.

"Mom, I'm- -"

"If you eat your cereals fast, I'm sure you will arrive punctual,  _dear_." She says in a tone of finality. No one in the family usually dares to contradict her, but unlike her, Mark is definitely  _not_ in a good mood. His is getting  _worse_  and  _worse_  actually.

"But I am- -"

" _Mark Yi-En Tuan_." And when your mother calls you by your complete name it means that if you do not obey her, you're gonna be in trouble. In  _shit_.

But seriously, it is not about  _ogling_  Jackson anymore. It is about arriving in time because if he doesn't Mr Park will shoo him from his lesson because the old man fucking hates latecomers. "What about I eat an apple on the way to school?" Mark says hurriedly, trying to find an agreement that would be extra favorable for him.

It occurs to Mark that this day is going to be part of his  _days that I'll try to forget_  when his mother gives him a thumb up and he's running to school with an apple in his mouth- -he turns the corner, he crosses the road without waiting for the traffic light to flash green and when a car honks at him, Mark fucking bites the apple and the piece goes straight to his throat and nearly suffocates him.

Mark does not die. Because if he dies because of a fruit, he'll make a scene up there.

He coughs a lot, though. His eyes are watering.

While his apple is getting kicked by passerbies and  _ok_  he's not going to have breakfast as he wished before after all, his phone buzzes in the pocket of his uniform pants.

Jaebum is telling him that their teacher is already in the classroom. 

 _Worst day of the year_. And it is just the beginning.

A middle aged man is extending his hand at Mark, but the guy is already on his feet. He offers a thankful smile before he inhales deeply and then reassumes running.  _Thank God I've left the History book at the locker. No heavy things to carry, thank God_. He does not check the time because that would just make him panic more and he doesn't need that at the moment. 

It usually takes him half an hour to get to school when he leaves his house at seven thirty and he walks calmly with the thought that Jaebum is still sleeping anyway so he can take it easily. He estimates that he'd be at the place in ten minutes and he ignores his body protesting that he can't keep this pace.

It is only when he is inside the school area that he fishes his cellphone out of his pocket.

_8.45_

Bad, very bad.

If it wasn't for the small incident that happened before, he would have gotten here five minutes earlier.  _Fuck my life_. Mark takes small steps now for various reasons: the most important is that his lungs need oxygen and two, he knows which are the consequences of his lateness.  _Detention_. 

 _Mom won't get mad 'cause this is partly her fault_.  _If she agreed on helping me find my uniform and my cellphone, this wouldn't have happened. If she conceded that I skipped breakfast this wouldn't have happened. If- -_

Mark's eyes widen. He looks down at his clothes and- -  _Please, make it the uniform shirt. Make it the uniform shirt. Make it the uniform shirt_. It's plain red. It is pajamas and  _Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck_. Why the hell did not his mother say anything about it?

He doubts that she did not notice.

The rational part of him tries to convince him that maybe she was not concentrating on his appearance, but she was more preoccupied on his health that she did not realise that her son was going out wearing a piece of his pajama, but try to tell that to the unrational part of Mark's brain which is waiting for another, even the minimum stress to burst.

He contemplates what to do after biting his bottom lip to the point that he almost cuts it.

 _I'm going home_. There is no way he is going to face his classmates in this condition and be scolded by the old man about proper  _garments_  and then be punished. 

With a frustrated sigh, he turns to leave. _I should tell Jaebum_. He will ask his friend to lie and say that he is sick and- -

"OI, YOU, DO NOT FUCKING STAND THERE! WATCH OUT! YOU!"

Mark quickly looks at his right where the shouts are originating. His expression barely slides from confussion to scared- -he does not know if he screamed or said anything at all. What he's sure of is that someone collides against him and knocks him out.

All he can remember is blurry seeing a guy kneel to him and ask him to survive. Then it's all black.

-

"A concussion?" A voice says. It sounds angry. "Why would you wish that he had a concussion, klutz? What kind of prayer is that?" Mark's head may hurt like a motherfucker, but he can confirm it: the person who is talking- -  _hissing_  - -is definitely angry.

"...Cool, man." Another voice says, whispering but not really. "But seriously, why not?"

"..."

"..."

"...why not, what?"

"Why don't we wish that he had a concussion, duh. Don't those cause short term memory loss? Maybe he'll forget what happened. Let's believe in the power of concussion."

"Jinyoung."

"...Yes?"

"Shut up."

"But hyung~"

Mark does not feel like opening his eyes, but let's say that he does not trust being surrounded by strangers and he absolutely has no idea about what happened to him. He wants an explanation... _and maybe a bed to lie on_. His neck hurts too. It is just after fluttering his eyelids open that he realises that he's sitting on the floor. Of the school.

"What's going on?" He mumbles, holding his head with one hand.

There are two students- -he recognises the uniform of his school. Mark takes a little sigh of relief. He squints at them.  _Hey, this one look familiar- -t_ he guy with short hair.  _Junior. Yes, it's Junior_. He's looking back at Mark with worry.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Junior booms all of a sudden, and he disintegrates an indefinite number of Mark's neurons in the process.

"What the fuck was that?" The other student demands from Junior. Mark has seen him before- -he has seen all of Jackson's small group of friends.  _He's the basketball player_. And nothing clicks even after that great information that the little voice in his mind's provided him ( _it's because of the headache_ ), but Mark registers that he has sharp features, brown hair and really plump lips.  _And he's tanned_. 

"I'm talking to you, Jinyoung." Tanned guy pulls Junior by his collar.

"That was plan B." 

"What."

"Plan A was the concussion, but since it's unlikely that it worked, I had to prepare a plan B."

"And all you could elaborate was happy- -" The tanned guy doesn't even finish his sentence. He shakes his head. He clicks his tongue at his friend. Before Junior has the chance to talk again, tanned guy shoves him aside.

"Pretend that he doesn't exist, okay?" Now, he's interacting with Mark. "How are you feeling?" He asks, concern writing his next facial expression.

"You tell me." Mark says coldly because he can't care less. So what if he's concerned? It is only logical that he is- -that they are.  _Of course_  they are worried as fuck: they are the responsable of Mark's pain.

If the other gets affected by the hostility that he receives (which is what Mark is hoping for), he's hiding it well (read that as 'he doesn't mind Mark's rudeness at all'. Mark just likes pretending that the other is bothered by his action.  _Pardon_ ).

He points at himself, "Kim Jongin," and then he catches Junior's wrist and brings him close to his side, "the idiot is Park Jinyoung."

"Also known as Junior." The other adds with a small smirk. "You and I...yesterday, right?" He asks, raising an eyebrow knowingly. 

"You know each other?" Jongin meddles in.

"Not really." Mark says. Once his eyes fall on Junior, they stick there. "You did this to me, didn't you?" It is more a statement rather than a question. Mark enjoys the smugness disappearing from the other's face and being replaced by something he recognises as fear.

Junior's orbs dilate. He opens and closes his mouth like a fish. "Are you going to sue me?"

The timid and trembling question, plus Junior's lost puppy look have Mark chuckling and it's a terrible idea because the next thing he knows is that he is closing his eyes very tight, vainly expecting for the ache to vanish.

"We should bring you to the infirmary." Jongin urges, his fingers tentatively touching Mark's shoulder. "Miss Chaerin will take care of you better than we did."

Mark would have retorted that it did not look like they did something to rescue him. They only inflicted him pain, and then sat him on the floor (which was uncomfortable) and _holy fuck, I feel dizzy_. "Please do," he murmurs in the end. He doesn't wait for the answer. Mark manages to get up on his own, but when he's about to walk, Jongin puts his arm around Mark. "Thanks."

"Jinyoung," Jongin calls his friend who's standing in front of them, unsure on what to do. "On the left." He instructs, but Junior isn't moving. "You stupid klutz, come here."

"Only if he promises that he won't tell the nurse." Mark sees Junior swallow hard. "...and that he won't sue me. These are my conditions. Take 'em or leave 'em." He says with a catious tone. "Well?"

Mark feels all the irritation slowly going away, because  _really_?  _Look at him_. He swears that he would have laughed- - if only he could take a picture of that hopeless look, he would have the solution for sad days. It's so helpless, childish- -he almost tries to visualize what Junior would have looked like when he was little and he broke something precious in his house and he had to tell it to his parents. But Mark forces himself to suppress the laughter.

He opts for a friendly smile. "You have my word."

"Fine."

And at this point, Mark should declare that this is good because even if it started as a hell-day, instead of a 'hit&run' he has the culprits walking him to the infirmary and trust him, with Mark's luck, this is something really surprising.

Knowing his cruel destiny though, Mark should have seen that there's a catch for this good thing.

As a matter of fact, Junior suddenly stomps his feet and then excuses himself.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Jongin half-shouts/half-hisses to Junior's back. Then, he exchanges a puzzled look with Mark. Several minutes later, Junior reappears with a skateboard in his hands.

 _The_  skateboard.

Before he can think about it, Mark blurts out, "isn't that Jackson's?" He doesn't cover his mouth with both of his hands because it would be obvious that he did not want to say that sentence. He feels numb, though. Numb and dumb. _Number_ and dumb. W _hat a perfect combination_.

However, Junior does not find anything odd about it ( _right_. Everyone knows about Jackson's companion. Why did Mark even get nervous?). He is not looking at neither Jongin or Mark. "We need to give this back to him."

"We're not interrupting Mrs Jung's hour to call Jackson out." Jongin says immediately. "We're skipping first period, alright? You'll hand him it during recess."

"No, he's out. He got kicked out by the teacher." Junior replies. "It will be quick."

"You go while I accompany Mark in the infirmary."

"I need you to be there with me. I kind of scratched his  _Lady_  and he'll destroy my skull." Junior directs a scowl at the skate. "C'mon, let's go." But the look he has is far from his confident tone. Mark notes how totally different is Junior's reaction to Mark's kind of blackmail from going to face Jackson- -

 _Oh_.

Ooh.

 _They_  are going to face Jackson.

Jackson- -the guy that has had Mark's interest from day one at the park. Jackson, the guy who drives Mark crazy without him knowing- -the same guy Mark follows, but from whom he's hiding since the embarassing rejection.

An unpleasant feeling akin to disappointment (how fucked up he is if he hasn't seen Jackson yet and he's already feeling like Jackson will do something that will make him sulk about it again?  _Wait. Delete the sulking part_ ) and excitement ( _but what if he doesn't?_ ) war for dominance. It is when Jongin keeps on insisting for Junior to go to Jackson by himself because Mark is not feeling well, that Mark knows which of the two feelings wins.

"It's fine to me," Mark sputters, his mind only thinking  _Jackson_  and _me_  and  _want to_. "We can go to the infirmary after delivering the skateboard to Jackson."  ~~A shiver runs down his spine as he pronounces the name of his crush in front of his crush's friends.~~  

Junior beams. "I like this one." He tells Jongin. "Heard what my  _buddy_  Mark said?" Jongin shrugs at the both of them. "Off to the Wang boy!"

(Mark does not understand Junior one bit: first he looks like 10 kilos are on his back, then one second later he's radiating happiness from all over his body).

The next minutes are the longest of his entire existence. 

They pass section A, and then Mark doesn't know what to do with himself anymore.

Jackson is outside the classroom.

As they get nearer, Mark sees that he has his hands stuffed inside his pockets as he mantains a position that balances perfectly a book on his head. _He doesn't have his cap on_. Which intrigues Mark because seeing Jackson's hair styled with gel happens once every decade.

When Junior throws himself at the guy (who loses his composure and makes a face as the book falls to the floor), Mark can't stop himself from letting out an alien protesting sound. 

Jackson is giving him his attention. "Huh?"

Let's be honest here- -Mark has visualized this encounter with Jackson at least a billion times. _In his head_. The encounter is something drama-like. For example, Mark is man enough to press Jackson to his locker with his body and then he kisses the hell out of the guy ( _Jackson moans. Mark catches this opportunity to slip his tongue in the other's mouth. Jackson is panting, "N-not at school" and- -_ Cut _. CUT!_ ) or, Mark is again man enough to wait for Jackson after school and then to apologise ( _then Jackson, upon seeing that Mark is the finest human specimen decides that Mark has to come to his home later that night to be forgiven_. Okay.  _OKAY_. All of the imaginary sceneries somewhat lead to sex. In Mark's defence he's got hormones. Teenagers hormones. Those should explain enough).

Now that he has the person of his desires in front of him yet again, his worry is that the world won't do him the favor of swallowing him whole.  _Why am I so fucking just making an idiot of myself. Say something._

"So you call your skateboard  _Lady_."  _Where the fuck does that come from?_  Mark feels like losing two years of life. 

Jackson's forefinger is indicating Mark. "Who is he?" He says in the same tone someone would say 'who the fuck brought this one here?' and that _doesn't_ make Mark's shoulders droop dejectedly.

 _He does not even remember me_.

To you guys, it may look like a gift to Mark (because now that Jackson has no wrong memories of Mark making fun of him, they can start everything all over again and Mark can make this right this time), but to Mark, it feels like a punch square to the jaw and to his ego.  _I wasn't worth being remembered_.

Jackson did not remember him.

Nothing. 

He's almost tempted to tell Jackson about #5 turn-down of 2012, but Jongin's talk spares him.

"Jinyoung tried to ride your skateboard this morning when he arrived at school. He was bragging about how good he was until he was near the entrance and he did not know how to stop skating. Mark here showed up from nowhere and he got hit by Jinyoung pretty hard." Jongin summarises and Mark listens carefully, asking himself in the middle of the narration why he did not ask for these details of the incident earlier. "Mark was unconscious before. We're taking him to Miss Chaerin."

"Yes." Junior confirms. He coughs in his fit. He's still leaning too close to Jackson for Mark's liking, but sadly it is not like Mark has the right to tell him to back off from Jackson. "And something happened to Lady. He's got this little, almost invisible line in one of his wheels." He's shifting his weight from foot to foot.

From Junior's behavior (and from personal experience), Mark is preparing himself to Jackson losing his temper. But instead, he attends one scene that he will never remove from his head.

Jackson's intently looking at Junior who's pushing the skateboard on his side, but the shorter guy isn't taking it. He tilts his head as if scanning if his friend has any injury. Mark is still in awe. This Jackson- -he's never seen this part of him. _Caring_. It is new and he likes it- -fuck, if he likes it.

"You okay?" Jackson breathes out, and Mark can't really help but imagine him being in Junior's position. If his crush asked him a thing with that voice- -even something impossible like fetch him the moon or bring him one of the brightest stars, Mark would.

"Why am I here?" Jongin crosses his arms on his chest. "Jackson would never kill him- -kick his ass a little, yes, but Jinyoung is his favorite."

Mark's heart shrinks to his stomach. He does not know why Jongin's shared that information with him. He's disturbed (jealous. Jealousy is another bitch) by Jackson and Junior talking to each other after that, yet he can't tear his eyes from them. 

"I will never leave Lady at your house ever again." Jackson is complaining as he embraces his skateboard.

"Don't be like that, hyung!"

_Fuck this shit._

"Wanna go visit the infirmary?" Jongin offers.

"Yes."

-

"Why are you dressed in red?" 

Mark's head is not on this planet. "I'm in my pajamas." That proves it.

-

Jongin keeps him company for a while.

He asks Mark seriously what his intentions are- -if he's going to tell the principal about the incident or not. No matter what happened before ( _the Jackson and Junior being smiley to each other_. He's only seeing green), Mark is not a dickhead who doesn't keep his promises. Contented with Mark's response, Jongin salutes him.

Miss Chaerin suggests him to go back home and he complies.

When Mark is gloomy, everyone can tell because it's written all over his face. His sister wants to treat him food, but he refuses. Same is the answer he gives to his father's offer to cheer him up and to his brother's. Mark's mother bakes him cookies and he accepts them. Food is always delicious.

He still texts Jaebum.

He tells him everything and his best friend calls him that night. 

"We've never heard of Junior and Jackson like that, haven't we?" Jaebum reasons out because sometimes he can be a nice person too.

Mark snorts. "Just like we've never heard of Jackson's soft side- - _God_ , JB, if you were there..." He lets out a moan. "He was such an angel to Junior. He asked him if he was okay with _this expression_.. _Oh, JB_."

"I'm hanging up."

He hates Jaebum.

-

Now, Mark knows that you were all expecting to read about his following Jackson habit being discovered, but the first part was necessary. 

Especially Junior and Jongin.

 _Junior_.

 _Jongin_.

They are very important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated! Let me know if you found this chapter interesting. Or not /lol


	3. Mark's new friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta-ed.

An incident creates a bond between the one who inflicts pain and the one who receives it.

Mark is going to be honest: he did not know anything about it. But it obviously exists, because if it didn't, then he wouldn't know how to explain Junior's sudden presence in the table that was once occupied only by Jaebum and Mark. He doesn't know if he should be excited about the temporarily addition of a new member.

"I was resting in the backyard." Junior replies when Mark asks him why he's the only one of their class who's out,  _ain't the others_ \- - and by others, he means Jackson, but let's not say this outloud - - _getting food?_

(And Mark absolutely doesn't internally slap himself. It is not like his big mouth is trying to spit out his huge secret.  _Nah_.

He has to do something about it.  _Yes, I must do something about this- -stupid mouth_ ).

Junior purses his lips. "Let's see, Jongin's finishing his algebra test. Jackson his English test. Youngjae has to run errands for our little fallen in sickness Daniel so he probably won't be around today." He nods at his own statements. "So that leaves- -  _one_ ,  _two_ ,  _three_ ," he counts, pointing at Jaebum, Mark and at himself, "plus Jongin and Jackson today." A pause. "You do not mind the other two, right? They're not sweethearts like me, but hey, Mark you've met them. You can tell that they are not dicks- - _err_ , not  _that_  bad at least, yes?"

Mark has come to the conclusion that having Junior at lunch is a great event after all.

-

"Do you Flappy Bird?" 

Jaebum gives Junior a funny look. "I'm pretty sure that your sentence lacks of something. Like the verb." He points out before taking a bite of his sandwich. "Try saying, do you play Flappy Bird, and maybe I will answer your question."

Mark watches Junior pout a little. For a moment he thinks that the guy is not going to give in- -actually, Mark wishes that he would resist.  _Serves Jaebum right for always pretending people to do what he wants._ But Junior's eyebrows furrow and then he leans to Jaebum's side, crossing his arms over the table and resting his chin on them.

"Do you play Flappy Bird, Jaebum hyung?"

Jaebum cruelly only hums in agreement.

Junior scratches his chin. He stares at Mark's best friend who reassumes eating and then drinking and then he's finishing his ham and cheese roll. " _Hyung_." Junior whines.

That has to be the fourth time in ten minutes that he's emitted that kind of sound. Even though seeing his best friend being dejected would be much cooler, Mark finds himself enjoying the show.

"You are supposed to ask me if I play it too."

Jaebum takes it calmly. Only when he's done having lunch, he turns to the other that is kind of starting to sulk at him. He sighs (but Mark has the feeling that Jaebum is having fun torturing the poor guy as much as he does.  _'Cause he's a sadist_. And right now, after recalling the closeness- - _it's closeness between friends, okay - -_ between Jackson and Junior, Mark finds it so hard to stop plastering a smile on his face.  _A very good sadistic friend_ ). "So, do you play Flappy bird too,  _Junior-sshi_?"

Junior is completely taken aback. "It is Junior without the sshi part, hyung." He says, scrunching his hands up onto fists against their table and then re-opening them. The movement is accompanied by another whine. " _Hyung_."

Has Mark already said that he loves Jaebum for teasing the guy? Because he does.  _Oh so much_.

"So," Jaebum is practically grinning ear-to-ear, "do you play Flappy Bird, _Junior-sshi_?" He repeats the suffix as if the other's said nothing about it. Junior narrows at him. "Do you want to finish that joke or can we talk about something else?"

"Continue!" Junior exclaims, gaining some looks on him from the other students, but the guy doesn't care about it at all since he's all over Jaebum. "I want to continue with the joke, please."

This has been going on since Mark has finished introducing the two to each other.

Junior's made these hilarious little comments about the cafeteria food and the school in general and other funny jokes to which Mark laughed to because they're good. Only Mark's laughed, though. Jaebum has remained impassive to all of them and Mark doesn't really know Junior that much and the past six minutes are a short period, but it takes that little for Mark to understand that Junior takes pride in making others have fun because of him. 

 _And Jaebum is the exception_. Mark thinks that Junior is using all of his greatest jokes in vain. 

His best friend glances at Junior before his eyes dart back to Mark and then he raises his eyebrows suggestively. Mark gives him a toothless smile.

Jaebum leans back into his chair, posture superior as he pretends to be playing with his fork. "Then go ahead. I'm listening."

"Okay, okay, okay." Junior says. "Give me a minute to concentrate, though." He starts popping his fingers and stretching his neck as if getting ready for a battle and if he's exaggerating, neither Mark or Jaebum tells him. They expectantly wait for him to begin.

But then a minute passes. A second minute goes and before other sixty seconds go to waste, Jaebum pokes Junior on the elbow. "You still the- -?"

Junior avoids the finger pressing on him by moving to one of the vacant chairs.

Mark scowls.  _Those are supposed to be for Jongin and Jackson_. He doesn't vocalise it, though, because as unbelievable as it may sound, he's actually starting to feel pity for Junior.  _He's taking this too seriously._

"So, do I play Flappy Bird too?"

 _God_. Mark's lips are twitching upwards because the guy is fiddling awkwardly with his fingers and his knee is pistoning up and down. He looks like he's having a job meeting and his shining career depends on how it will end. 

"No, I don't, because I already have _a bird_  to play with!"

It comes out like a yell. Like an awkward yell- -actually, it sounds like Junior blurted it out aloud without him really wanting to say it, but he did just because.

Soon Junior stills because Jaebum's  _judging you so hard look number 7_ has taken on a life of its own after the words exited Junior's mouth. He hangs his head. (Mark is the only one chuckling, but this time it is entirely because of his friend).

"Oh, mother of shit." He sighs in defeat. "You gave me so much pressure that I forgot how to pour my Jinyoung charm on the joke." The guy accuses, giving Jaebum a sidelong stare.

After his eyes have bored a hole inside Junior's soul, Jaebum finally archs a brow. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Junior-sshi."

"Stop with the sshi!" Junior throws his hands in the air. A second later, he jumps on his previous seat, tugging on Jaebum's arm like a petulant child. "Let me try for the last time. I promise that if you do not interrupt me and if you spare me the bitch-face, I'll make you laugh so hard you'll be holding your tummy and ask for assistance because you won't be able to walk from how much you'll love it."

Jaebum looks at him skeptically. 

"C'mon, hyung, you won't regret it. You will ask me for more. I can assure you that I'm really good at it. You ask anyone. I am. Just let me prove it to- -"

"Jinyoung, stop. Dude."

Mark's heart flutters in his chest.

 _S to the H to the I to the T_.

They all look up at the same time. 

"Oh, the  _King_  is here." Someone says, sarcasm dripping from the short sentence. It is probably Jaebum- - _it is Lim Jaebum_. Since Junior looks like he adores his  _Jackson hyung_  and Mark just cannot be the one who doesn't like Jackson (and we don't need to explain why he can't be that), it can't be anyone else but him.

Mark would tell his friend to  _behave_ , but his friend knows how to handle situations that he doesn't find pleasant. So he trusts Jaebum in this.  _A little at least_. 

Jackson is wearing a mischievous grin and Mark dies a bit inside. He's flushing slightly, there is a beautiful light shade of red that colors his cheeks and he's sweating. In fact he has his uniform all unbuttoned (as _usual_ , but nobody is complaining) and Mark trails the grey wife-beater's material stretching on Jackson's chest and hugging his waist. He's adjusting his black cap on his head.

"Was that some sort of innuendo, Park Jinyoung?" He drawls, his eyes jumping from the short haired guy to Mark's best friend. 

"With this person?" Junior goes bug-eyed, though his fingers clinging on Jaebum don't losen their grip. "I don't really think so. How can I even think about pounding someone who doesn't understand the simplest shit?"

"Which means that he absolutely hates all the bullshit that you call jokes." Jackson translates. He pats Junior on the head, earning a huff in return. (Mark doesn't sigh  ~~dreamily~~.  _He doesn't_. He seriously doesn't. _Really_. He's close to, but he doesn't because he has some dignity left). "Ten points to you, dude." He offers Jaebum his hand to shake and  _wait._

_What the fuck is happening?_

First, Mark starts curling his toes inside his shoes because he did not have any handshaking from his crush. Two, someone who's not Mark should tell Jackson that it is a waste doing that sort of civilized human gesture to Mark's friend because the idiot hates his guts. Kind of. Well, Lim Jaebum isn't a fan of Jackson. As a matter of fact, his best friend is staring at the offered hand a little too long and a little too hard as if the mere thought of touching it would burn him whole. Three, when Jackson smiles his eyes turn into crescent moons and his pearly teeth bite his lower lip after his tongue has licked it a little and _I'm getting all poetic and moron-ass_ and _Mark_ , _stop this_.

"You're not going to eat anything?"

"Nah, you know how this school works. Bet they are serving the left overs of last week at this hour."

"You can always ask someone to give you a burger. They won't refuse."

"Don't want to...hey, so we're going to sit down with this new friend of yours."

"He's not a friend."

"I don't see you as a friend either, Junior-sshi."

 _What does it take to be accepted or to at least be looked at by Jackson like that?_  Mark wonders as he watches Jaebum acting mature in the end and Jackson and Junior conversating about their mutual friends.  _Be a lost puppy like Junior? Be a sadist asshole like his best friend Jaebum? A 24/7 looking cool and charming boy like Jongin?_  He would really like to receive a good answer.

He will never get tired of saying this because it is one of the truest things in the world- -like you can call a random person in the street and ask him and he will tell you Mark's name or, you can search for it in a dictionary and under the meaning of the term you'll find Mark's name used as a synonym of the word.

 _Mark Tuan is Unlucky_. 

So helplessly unlucky that when Jongin arrives, Mark's the first one to be greeted by him and just then, Jackson realises that there are not only three people at the table.

"I really did not see you."  _Do you also want to puke on my heart now that it's all cracked, sir?_

Jackson nods at his direction and Mark interprets it as  _okay, you're here too, who fucking cares_  and he cannot be more right than that because not only his crush pushes Jongin in the seat next to Mark when the guy's about to settle himself in the chair next to Junior's, but he leaves him out of his conversations for the entire lunch. Jaebum tries to include him and so does Jongin (Junior spends his time trying to make Jaebum laugh only to fail miserably), but each fucking time, Jackson does not talk to him- -he just stays there looking elsewhere or he's whispering things in Junior's ear.

"Uh, bye." It's Jackson disinterested dismissal when they have to part to go to their separate classes.

Mark will never cry  _for unrequited crush_ : he'd rather wait to grow boobs and lose his manhood, but he can't deny that he feels like doing it. 

-

If he has to think about it- -like locks himself in the room and sits down on the mattress of his bed and then uses at least a full hour to think about it, Mark will conclude that chasing the heart of the person that he likes and confessing are not really his areas of expertise.

They have never been.

His first relationship- -well, he was eight back then so it wasn't really a serious relationship. It was a kiddy love.

Anyway, Alice's a childhood friend.

They went to elementary together in California (Mark hasn't told this to you guys, right?  _Oh, okay_. It's just a small detail of his life: he's a Cali boy.  _Lived there until I was eleven. Then I flew in Korea. Cool place._  He sometimes comes back during summer).

He remembers her giving him this container full of cookies and he started to eat them one by one only to stop when she shrieked at him and hit him on the back. She demanded him to spit out the last cookie because apparently there was written  _do you want to be my boyfriend_ on it. In the end, he did not have to regurgitate anything.

They were the cutest couple of their school for five days: Mark was accused of not being loving and he absolutely was not the Prince Charming Alice thought he was.  _She hadn't known me at all if that was her impression of me_.

Then, there was Chanhee, the one who made Mark realise that he might be bisexual after all and guess what? Mark's bisex and his first boyfriend was Chanhee himself.

It was an odd relationship since the both of them wanted to top and neither was willing to give in. Chanhee broke up with him after a month of trying to persuade Mark of at least acting a little bit cuter and Mark instantly refused each time because like hell he was going to do that.

They remained friends, though.

Well, until the day Chanhee finally met this Byunghun boy and he started losing his independency. They're always together now.  _Do this together, do that together_. The type of pair of lovers who looks too nauseatingly lovey-dovey. 

There were hook-ups after that.

Mark can give a series of names- -Jaebum calls Jackson an asshole player, but they themselves haven't been saints. Mark has given his amount of broken hearts and as far as he can recall, Jaebum too.

 _He's my friend, that's why he's like that with Jackson_.

He believes in a lot of things.

For example, it is not a secret that he believes in misfortune, bad luck and he has never denied that the word destiny has always had a big space in his mind. He has spent some time thinking about it because his destiny is linked to his bad luck and guys,  _it sucks_.

Before Jackson Wang, Mark did not have to problematise about his wooing (do people still use this word?) techniques because as long as he kept smiling at his crushes, they came to him like bees on honey and they were the ones to do all the work.

Mark's one and only job had been playing the smiling perfect statue and waiting for the other to admire him and to take that little step towards him that will eventually push them to fall in Mark's arms. And the ones doing the pushing were them themselves.

He was just there with his arms stretched out waiting for his crush to fall in them.

Back to talking about Jackson, Mark's incapacity to win him and his beliefs, he once thought that it's his karma that has sent him the Cute Skateboarder. To make him pay for all of the people that he hurt in those previous relantionships and especially for the non-official ones.

However, after a whole night of thinking, he came to the conclusion that it couldn't be the case.

He read that the concept has nothing to do with punishments or awards. Karma is about people's lives and how they treat others.

Mark never lies about it: he's somewhat declined people after spending an afternoon or two with them and maybe he's given them a little too much hope, but it's not like he doesn't feel anything after each refusal. He refuses them because he sees no future with them.

If it's about causes and effects of his actions, Mark is 100% sure that Jackson Wang has not been sent because Mark has misbehaved ( _I'm a good person, excuse me_ ).

So it is not about karma.

It is something far less complicated like,

 _Jackson Wang doesn't like Mark Tuan_. 

And Mark has thought about that countless times in these two years, but it has never weighed this much even after the first big rejection because  _I really didn't see you (_ and _who is he)_ puts his hopes on the edge.

What do you do when the person you like seems to really not like you?

Like Mark can try as much as he wants but there won't be any improvement.

-

"I am being extremely helpful. You are just choosing not to listen to me like you always do." Jaebum says, unperturbed by Mark's complain. He looks to the door and upon receiving a waggling finger from their classmate, indicating that their teacher is still nowhere to be seen, he taps his forefinger on Mark's head. "You're releasing depressing vibes, you know."

"Don't touch me."

Jaebum furrows his brow. "So we've come to the point that I cannot even touch you, huh?"

"I don't wanna hear anything. Let me."

"Fine. But for the record, I did not ask to join them in their senseless convos." Jaebum specifies for the ninth time and for the same amount of times Mark would really like to tell him that he fucking knows, except that he doesn't. "And I stayed even though I still see that Wang as an arrogant-ass because of you."

"Ssh."

"Fuck you too." Jaebum snarls. "Do what you want."

"I'm sorry. It's not you. It's not your fault." Mark says automatically. He is trying so hard to keep a neutral expression, but as time passes by and Jaebum keeps feeding him the old crap and he actually starts agreeing to a part of it, it slowly starts to slip off of his face. "It's just that- -it. Ugh...does  _that_  really make a person an apparent asshole?" He grumbles.

"What was that?" His best friend's entire expression screams disbelief.

Mark ruffles his hair. He opens the window and he sees Jaebum not welcoming the refreshing wind that blows straight on his face. "Forget it. I can't call him that just 'cause he dislikes me, can I."

"You should call him asshole because he treated you like that. It was so evident that he did not want you there." Jaebum counters easily. "Are you really sure that he doesn't remember you? The park? Because try to think about it for a second, you haven't exactly done anything to make him hate you, but he does."

Mark disapproves the choice of words because he doesn't think that it's  _hatred_. Jackson's dislike for him isn't that deep- -not that  _extreme_.

 _Isn't it?_ Damn Jaebum for confusing him.

"Uh, you think that...he hates me...?" He murmurs quietly, swallowing a little lump in his throat.

Jaebum gives him a look. " _Mark_." He glares halfheartedly at the sky before his gaze flies back on Mark. His eyes soften. His face breaks into a warm smile.

"The fuck are you sweating blood for?"

His voice is soft too and Mark knows that they are going to have that kind of talk which they will pretend they did not have once it's ended because they do cope well insults and retorts, but feelings and sensibilty are just not their style. "The high-schooler in first year who gave you chocolates last week, he has a nice ass. Don't you think?"

Mark shakes his head, finding himself easily falling for the gentle tone of voice. "Nah." And then, with a shit eating grin, "haven't you seen Jackson's?"

"Shit, no." Jaebum's expression twists as if he's going to vomit. "I deduct from that," he says, the smartass, encouraging Mark to finish the sentence, "that even after that scene back at the canteen, you still think that the sun shines out of his ass." He finishes all by himself because the other's not talking.

Mark almost laughs. " _Juno_ , huh?"

"After all this time, Tuan?"

Mark is laughing. "Fuck that,  _always_."

Jaebum half-smirks. "I still don't fucking see what's 'bout Wang that you like-  -is it the cap? Anyway, if you're really that serious, I'm going to tell you this only one time: stop just fucking sex-eyeing the guy, balls out, do something. Be a little more aggressive. If he doesn't like you, make him."

Mark blinks.  _That.Woah_. "...well,  _gee_. I'll never wish to be liked by you." He says, and then his classmates warn them that Mrs Lee is coming and to everybody to go to their respective desks.

"Thanks, Jaebum." He puts a hand on his best friend's nape and squeezes a little.

-

 _Rule one: when I say delete, you do it_.

It takes a long time to accomplish important matters.

Anthony Stark struggled a lot to be recognized and to see himself less than a problem and more like a hero- -Nichkhun had to court Victoria for months before she accepted to date him- -Rome was not built in a day, and Mark has learnt to be patient and he is learning to keep trying because he's starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and he can hear the sound of triumph. (Hopefully it will turn to be crescent moons and the sound will have a smooth, quite conceited accent when it starts talking in Korean).

It might take a while, but he's learnt that the best things in life need a fucking lot of effort.

And oh, shit.  _I compared Jackson to Rome._

Okay.

 _Delete_.

-

Tuesday starts with a new Mark Tuan. 

He slept only three hours because he had to prepare his speech for the Science project and it took him three hours longer than expected: he couldn't focus solely on the task because his mind wandered in the Jackson Wang folder and Jaebum's simple words of encouragement were set on replay.

But even after a very short rest, he feels like he can rule the world.

His best friend has somewhat renewed his confidence. 

Mark has never wooed (he's going to change verb one of these days,  _really_ ) anyone before- -Jackson Wang is his first true crush and he's not going to lose him without giving all himself.

Jaebum did not say anything false the day before: Mark has always cowed eyes from afar (you'll never hear about him admitting this again. _Like never ever again_ ) and it is the moment to put a stop to it.

He is the one who needs to  _approach_  Jackson this time. He cannot wait any longer; he's been doing nothing for two years and two months and one week (wanna know the date when he met Jackson for the first time?  _Secret_ ) and a couple of hours and minutes and seconds, and n _ow_  it's time for  _action_.

No more teenage angst.

 _If he doesn't like you, make him_.

He will.

He's been stubbornly declaring his feelings for the guy to his friend and he's been trying to pursue Jackson for two fucking years (without him knowing, _fine_ ) and now that he has a crappy ( _but still_ ) excuse to talk to Jackson since the day Junior hit him with  _his_   _Lady_ , why would he give up?

_If he doesn't like you, make him._

The first thing he does when first period ends ( _second_ , if he doesn't count high-fiving Jaebum after they got an A+.  _Fuck yeah_ ) is trying to arrive first at the canteen ( _first everywhere. Well, bear with it_ ) because girls usually buy all the fruit juices available.

Mission done, the second prayer is for Junior to sit with them again, but if his invocation gets ignored up there, he has prepared also something to lure Junior in the trap. 

"The kid will give me a fucking headache." Jaebum grunts.

Mark notes as he's waiting for the trio that people are throwing them glances and muttering about them. He decides immediately to be indifferent to it: he has a scheme, a plan, and today he is not going to miss it. Plus, he's probably imagining things because he's done nothing remarkable to be the hot topic. Neither did Jaebum ( _or he'd have told me_ ).

He can't disregard the attention a dark brunette gives him, though.  _If a random girl plants herself in front of you all of a sudden and stares at you for an interminable moment, you wouldn't either_.

"Yes?"

The brunette's mouth forms a little 'o'.

Then, she's being pushed away by another girl, shorter, who Mark assumes is her friend.

As they walk past him, he catches some words they're exchanging.  _New friends of Jackson, cannot_  and something about  _writing_ and Mark is smart enough to recreate a likely puzzle: they saw Jaebum and him with the popular students ( _right_. The big popularity of  _Jackson &Co_. Of course it would have not gone unnoticed by anyone that they shared the table with them yesterday. So it's possible that he's part of the hot topic after all) and mostly, they are Mark's  _competitors_.

Or at least one of them- - the brunette - - is because she wants some 'help'.  _That she will not receive_. Mark and the possessive nature that he hadn't known he had before the crushing.

"We look like retards," Jaebum says in annoyance. "Why the hell are we waiting near the entrance? Unless you're going to assault him once you catch the sight of him, we should take seats."

"No." Mark says firmly. "There's a high percentage that Junior visiting us won't be something happening twice- -I'm afraid it's a once in a lifetime thing and, I- -" He drops his gaze on the bottle in his hand. He holds it up. "- -my first step is, uh,  _this_."

"Don't know exactly what you're gonna do, but I can always guess that it's better than nothing." His best friend mocks him.

And then Mark hushes him.

The next following minutes are excruciating.

He runs a hand through his hair a couple of times- - _six maybe_. He has never been this anxious, not even when he lied to his parents, saying that Laura was not drunk even though they could hear her singing _La isla bonita_  in the kitchen at 2 am and she stank of Vodka when their mother talked to her- -Mark did not even know why he tried pulling her out of trouble when it was obvious that she was going to be grounded for an indefinite period.

"Stop zoning out. Eyes at twelve o'clock, Mark. Assface and crew are doing the swag walk towards us." 

Mark does not dignify that with an answer.

They all seem to be absorbed in listening to Jongin who's leading the group along with Jackson. The two guys are peeking behind their shoulders so that Junior can hear too.  _Oh_. He can see an arm around Junior's shoulder and then the face of a student sporting a black crewcut everytime Jongin inclines his own head to the left.

 _Youngjae?_ Mark's not sure.

 _And I'm not interested_.

His eyes sweep around the area and  _fuck, okay,_  maybe Jaebum was giving a nice advice earlier. They do look like fucking morons by standing at the door and now that almost all the students have ordered their lunch, it might be worse.

"Act like you've just arrived." He says urgently, rubbing a hand on his face and pretending to be looking for a free place. But it looks like he won't be faking it for long because Jaebum was right about the tables too. _They all seem to be taken_.

"How am I supposed to act like _I've just arrived_?" Jaebum asks.

"I don't know, God.  _You think about it_."

"Then how can I- -"

"Jaebum,  _please_."

" _Jesus Christ_. You owe me for this."

They do not act natural at all.

The four are ten steps from them and Mark is a bundle of nerves. The confidence is still there. The thought that he has to accomplish this thing remains intact. It is just that it is starting to get hot and Mark's getting sweaty and he needs to pull the collar of his shirt and blows his face some air.

"Nervous?"

"What do you think?"

"I think neon pink ears really suit you."

 _Jerk_. 

He doesn't know why, but it is always Jongin the one who sees him first. He gives him a small wave and Mark cracks a forced smile in return. Jongin halts in front of Mark with a short distance between them and Mark notices for the first time that the guy is quite taller than him. From his peripheral vision, he can see that the other three are behind, talking to each other about- - _uh, basketball?_

"What's up?" Jongin says conversationally, bringing Mark's look to his face. Then for an unknown reason he steps forward. He frowns. "Are you sick?"

 _Worse_. He tries to smile more genuinely this time. "Tough day."

"Oh, okay, me too." Jongin says, contorting his face in pain. "I'll probably need a tutor if I want to pass Math. I swear to God, I do not fool around the lessons that much and I've started taking notes, but  _nada_. Fucking Math will be the death of me." 

"I'm sorry." Mark says apologetically. He likes the fact that at least one member of the gang treats him like a friend and does share personal business with him. Junior is kind of friendly too in his  _hyung, give me love, attention and care_  and  _I'm here_  way.

Speaking of the guy. Junior jumps from the back to the front, now standing before a perplexed Jaebum. "I was about to look for you!" He bursts out, extending his arms and Mark swears he will remember Jaebum's look saying _I want to bang my head on a counter_  for the rest of his life. 

His best friend is so going to demand a lot from him- - _hell_ , Jaebum had no intention of spending another break with the overly active Junior. Mark just happened to convince him by parroting the little speech he gave to Mark and telling him that this is the moment and if he really meant all those balls out crap, he ought to make Mark be able to make his move.

"Hey, Mark," Jongin calls him. He's giving him an embarassed face. "Do you know a- -"

But Mark gets momentarily deaf thus he does not hear Jongin because  _Jackson and maybe-Youngjae are_   _moving and this cannot be_. The nervousness and anxiety start to gather in his chest and coil. Before he knows it, he's already walked away, leaving Jongin there.

He doesn't know if all of this determination that he's mustered up in 30 hours is good or if it is going to get him a limb cut off of his body, but his hand lands on Jackson's arm and  _yeah_ , he's going to learn living with a single arm because Jackson looks mad after being pushed around.

And  _yeah, yeah_ , he used too much strenght in the movement and  _just maybe_ , he did not simply land his hand, but he yanked the guy in his direction- -his nostrils are filled with a sweet scent that reminds him of baked pies and Jackson up close, even with the blackness in his mad eyes, is an oversized puppy.  _Not Junior puppy-face like_ , Jackson's a puppy: cute, too cute,  _you just want to pet him_ and _keep him for yourself_.

"What do you want?"

 _That's not puppy-like, though_.

Back to Earth, Mark watches Jackson eye the offending hand with a glare.

"Uh, sorry," he lets it drop, his face heating up.

Jackson pins him in place with a look. "It's  _fine_. I guess." Then, "do you want anything from me or not?"

He deserves the rudeness. Mark can't help asking, "did it hurt?"

Jackson says nothing, but he shifts from  _ferocity_ to  _look at this weirdo_  mode.

"I just really did not mean to." He insists and  _change the topic, this isn't working._   _Abort! Abort!_ Jackson's clearly not hurt.  _What can I- -_ His fingers unconsciously start scratching on the plastic of the bottle.  _Bottle?_  Oh, yes.  _The bottle!_  "Here."

Jackson seems taken aback. He fixes his gaze on the object Mark's offering him before very slowly raising his own hand to accept it.

His orbs widen a little. "It's apple juice." He says in awe, smiling a little as he rolls the plastic container to examine it. It'd be all so perfect if Jackson, still holding the same expression, would look up at Mark who can already feel himself falling a little more for the guy (even though the smile isn't directed at him, but  _semantics_ ).

"Wait." Jackson's precious smile starts dissipating.  _No, what, rewind, why?_  "Is there a reason why you're giving me apple juice?"

"I,"  _think. Brain, think_. He gulps, "thought you could be thirsty."  _My God_. He's an Olympic champion in lying. (Guys, don't laugh. You've done worse in your lives and if you did not, then be fucking proud of yourself without judging others thank you very much). He resists the urge to groan.

"But how do you- -"

_OkShitFuckshitshitOhmyGodShitshitshitshit_

"Fuck, Jackson _._ " The maybe-Youngjae guy laments, popping out from behind. "Why do you have to give  _the boy_ a hard time? You almost never get to drink your favorite juice or any juice at school because you're slow and now that a nice boy gives you what you want  _because you're thirsty,_ " he shoots Mark a smile, "you interrogate him like he's a murderer." He sighs. "Fucking thank him and let's go."

"Don't order me." Jackson grumbles, loud enough for Mark to hear it. "Thank you." He says anyway.  _Can you be any more adorable?_

He'salready taking a sigh of relief when Jackson looks like he's not going to question him anymore. Actually, his crush is going away with his friend- -it's with stupor that Mark sees Jackson backwalk to reach his previous position. Not really. There is a safe space between them, unfortunately. "You...you're Mark, right?" 

Mark nods.  _So he knows my name_.  

"Thanks for the juice, Mark."

 _Oh, okay, you can_.

-

After completing the mission successfully, Mark feels like being able to touch the sky. Like if he tiptoed and raised his forefinger, he could feel the fluffiness of the clouds or the heat of the sun hitting his finger- - _okay_ , he's going too far now.

He feels like celebrating that night and he's so happy that even when he notices that his collection of Linkin Park CDs is incomplete and he doesn't need to struggle to think about who could the criminal be because it's crystal clear that Laura has taken it after Mark hid her new Avon lipstick and then forgot the place where he put it, Mark tells himself that he's going to search for Underground the day after tomorrow. 

Not tomorrow because knowing himself he'll still feel the after-effects of the day before.

It's so fucking-tastic that Mark is getting drawn into believing that maybe his guardian angel has finally woken up from his lethargy and he's going to protect him from now on, but Mark should never forget not to turn his hope to the maximum because he'll be deceived.

And that's exactly what happens.

However, this time the situation doesn't worsen because of adverse accidental events that Mark cannot control. So he has really no one to blame- - not the guardian angel that he might or not might have, not the good Fortune that seems to have never heard the name Mark Tuan ever and seems like it will never do.

If he has to scold someone, to get angry and to curse against someone, it's himself. 

Before you start arguing that he has declared all those wonderful shit that you read above, Mark would like to point out that old habits die hard.

He's always known that he's a person whose specialty is beating around the bushes.

Mark's still tasting how it feels like to be majoring in straightforwardness and  _well_ , even if the first bite has given him a delicious aftertaste, he's still a little hesitant to go further because straightforwardness looks like being plan and homogenous, but Mark thinks that it has a million of different tastes hidden somewhere.

And he doesn't feel like taking the next step immediately because  _okay_ , the first step  _which is always the hardest_  went well, but that doesn't mean that the second will. In his eyes, the second step is actually worse because it has to be better than the previous one, but nothing particularly spectacular because then, what will his third step be?

He ought to do something that will leave a bigger impact on Jackson, but it has to be a gesture that Mark will perfectly be able to surpass later.

 _Yeah, yeah_ , it is all so very confusing.

"I don't understand what you're fucking saying." Jaebum says slowly, giving Mark an odd look. "What the fuck is that thing about bites? And that second and third step- - -are you fucking out of your mind?  _What the hell, Mark_. Just fucking give him another apple juice. End of your problems."

Jaebum understands nothing.

And Mark doesn't know why he confided his thoughts in his best friend.

After ten days of thinking about what his next move should be ( _okay, fine._  Let's underline that fucking number at least two times. He's been thinking for  _ten_  fucking days), Mark is desperate and he's getting insane enough to try to ask for dating-advices from his older brother in the middle of a Lord of the Rings marathon, on a night when Nichkhun doesn't seem very sleepy.

His brain has to skip right all over near the references to Nichkhun, Victoria and sex, because he doesn't want to be scarred by the images that his wild imagination will give him. ( _Trying to depict your brother's bare ass when he's doing it with what seems like the girl who's going to be family too in the near future is terrifying_ ). Then, Mark interrupts his babbling about traumatising stuff and explains him for the second time that all he wants is to be guided on what to do. He absolutely does not want to know about Nichkhun's sex-adventures.

"First things first, who's the lucky person?"

"Jackson Wang."

"Classmate?"

"No."

"Friend at school?"

"Huh, no." Mark admits to Aragorn who's telling Frodo that he needs to be careful. He can feel Nichkhun's confused gaze on his panicking body. Mark grabs a handful of chips and shoves half of them in his mouth.

"Does this Jackson know that you fancy him?"

 _Who the hell still uses the verb fancy?_ Wait _. I'm in no position to talk_. Wooing.  _Okay_.

"Well,  _probably_ , but I hope not 'cause I was thinking of making a great confession, uh." His eyes are glued on the screen of the television. "And I.  _Well_ , I gave him a fruit juice not long time ago." (Guys, shut up. Don't contradict him.  _Ten fucking days_. Mark knows alright? It's just that Nichkhun is already oh so judging him and Mark would really like for him to cut it out).

"A fruit juice?"

"An apple juice." Mark corrects. "A friend of Jackson told me that Jackson likes it and I bought him one."  _When the hell did the dragon appear and why the hell is Gandalf dying?_  "Once."

"Did he like it?"

"Seemed so."

Silence. Then, Nichkhun clamps both his hands around Mark's shoulders and shakes him lightly. There's no trace of sleepiness on his face. His brother is grinning at him. "So there. Why don't you buy him another one?"

Now, Mark did not expect that answer coming from Nichkhun because the latter has always been incredibly helpful. He's disappointed at the beginning and after he explained Nichkhun about the straightforwardness and that step two's epicness needs to be more than step one's and less than step three's, he's beyond disappointed because he can forgive one fail from Nichkhun, but his brother saying that Mark is sputtering crap and to really just buy Jackson another apple juice is too much. _That's probably why Victoria agreed to date him after a decade_.

Jaebum and supposedly Nichkhun are stupid.

But after other three days (which means thirteen days of planning nothing.  _Shit_ ), Mark comes to the conclusion that he's more stupid that those two.

-

"I knew that you would follow my suggestion in the end."

"Yes, yes." Mark replies in a condescending tone, just for Jaebum to stop talking.

There are no signs of the group yet.

Sighing a little, Mark looks down at his hands twisting in his lap, obviously in distress.

 _Hell_. How can he be feeling like he'll lose his breath in a moment or another if he already did this before? Is it just him being inexperienced in the getting-the-person-you-like subject or is everyone like this?

 _Tell me it is the second_ ,  _goddammit_. He joints his hands together firmly.

He inhales.

Jaebum laughs scornfully next to him. "I'm trying to imagine you on your first date with him." He says. The intensity of Mark's gaze on him should make him at least fidget, but Jaebum only pokes his cheek with a fry. "JB," his best friend's voice reaches an octave as he tries to mimic a teenage girl's, "shoul I wear this red shirt or do you think Jackson will like green better? No, wait, I look better in red, do I? What do you think, JB?" 

"It's not funny." Mark hisses, his glare intensifying. Hot embarassment churns his stomach.

" _Oooh_ , it is," the bastard says, "you know when you have that feeling that something will really happen? Buddy, I can totally see you panicking on your first date and dropping at my house an hour before the meeting to panic some more. I'm already warning you: I'll be fucking laughing at you."

"I hope you choke on your fries."

Jaebum is still deriding him. "Green, Mark. Always go for green."

He should really look for another best friend- -this one is very flawed. Mark needs a new one. 

But after Jaebum has returned to eating, Mark becomes troubled all over again.  _Aw, not good_. At some point, he has to put the bottle of juice on the table because his hands are starting to get sweaty. He stares at the entrance, and he tries to recall the movements of the last time only to get himself even more nervous because he can't repeat them.  _I can't yank his arm again_. Jackson won't go  _it's fine, I guess_  on Mark again.

He spends the waiting whispering to himself placating words while the ready-to-be-replaced Jaebum has begun taunting him because apparently Mark's ruining his fries-time.

 _Everything will be alright_.

And it would probably have, if it's not for the fact that when Jongin and Youngjae finally show up, Jackson is not there.  _But I saw him this morning_.

"Motherfuckin' fuck." Jaebum comments, looking in the same direction. "Jackass is not here. And to think that you had to beg that blondie to let you have the last juice. Tsk."

Mark channels the sudden frustration into his thinking of the places where Jackson may be. _Damn it_. Thirteen days, which means nearly two weeks, and if Mark adds the seven days before them when Jackson was always at the canteen, they're three weeks and  _yeah_ , it is possible that Jackson is having his all alone time right now.

_On a scale of one to ten how fucking lucky is Mark?_

_-6_

Jongin and Youngjae who's talking on the phone approach their table at the exact moment when Mark is getting up. (They've done that other times. Well, Junior and Jongin. The two sometimes chit-chat with them- -Junior with Jaebum and Mark with Jongin. Only them, though. Neither Youngjae or Jackson join them. The latter has sent them his nod/greet a couple of times.  _What a pity huh_ ).

"Oh, Mark." Jongin is offering him already a smile. "Where are you going?"

"Uh," Mark mutters. "Uhm.  _Somewhere_." He says not smoothly because it's not his forte, but at this point Mark guesses that you are all already aware of that. "Jackson was at school this morning, right?" He blurts out and only God knows why (Mark doesn't either).

"Ah, him." Jongin raises an eyebrow. "Yes, but..." His gaze flicks on the floor then up at Mark again as if he's unsure whether to share the information or not. "Jinyoung said that they left the classroom together and then," he shrugs, "Jackson is doing something, we suppose. Jinyoung is- -"

" _Doing something_." Mark mumbles, shaking his head. "Thank you, Jongin, see you tomorrow," and then he's running in the hall.

 _Bleachers or lockers_. The options are those two.

Mark has to slow down when the vice-president exits a classroom and gives him a warning look. He has to cut off the running- -he walks fast.

It occurs to him, as he turns to class 1-C which is just three classes far plus the stairs from the lockers that he is looking for Jackson because he's frustrated, but mostly because this is something he's been doing for _two years_ \- -he's followed Jackson during breaks for more than 730 days to be more precise.

He wonders if it is because he's been busy doing things related to Jackson in another way that it seems that it's been longer since the last time the guy isolated himself. 

 _Why does he do it anyway?_  Mark is descending the stairs.  _Does he have issues? Problems so big he needs to be alone? Isn't it better if he has someone to talk to?_  The last question pinches something inside him.

_Can't it be me?_

And those four words sound different now because Mark values them a whole lot. They're not the four words he used to start his imaginary sceneries with Jackson.  _Fuck_. No, he is considering it.  _This is serious_ \- -Mark's palpitations are faster.

 _Make it be you_.

Mark finds Jackson at the lockers.

The sight of his crush slightly bobbing his head at the rhythm of the song he's listening to always succeeds to make Mark grin unconsciously. He knows thanks to one of Junior's slip of tongue when he's discussing with Jaebum about decent music that the guy actually likes listening to  _rap_.

From the angle he's looking at, he can see that Jackson is sitting on his Lady.

After the skateboard, Mark finally stares at Jackson's face- -he's looking in deep thought as usual. His head is moving, but his eyes are distant.  _Can I make that kind of face disappear?_

There's a brief moment when Jackson's eyes flicker to the wall where Mark is hiding himself.

He quickly takes different steps back until his heel hits the last of the stairs. His throat goes dry.  _Man, that was near_ and then, a second later he thinks,  _man, what the fuck_. He counts one to ten before taking slow walks. Mark has one hand on the wall as he catiously peeks at Jackson who's back in his world.

 _He's..tying his shoes. Oh_.

It doesn't go unnoticed to Mark that there's something absolutely abnormal in his head today because a small voice is telling him  _what will happen if you pretend to casually walk in front of him, pretend to see him and then coolly sit down next to him like the guys do in those dramas that Laura loves?_  He licks his lips.  _Yes, that- -that will probably work, won't it- -I just have to act super cool. I can start with sitting down there and then I can tell him something like- -_

_\- -uh. Like what._

_Hi, Jackson, what are you doing here all alone?_ _Wanna have company?_

_But what if he says no. Then it will be awkward and I do not like awkward._

_Jackson, I'm gonna sit here... Nah, too arrogant._

_What about- -_

"Mark, what are you doing?"

His body petrifies upon hearing what he recognises immediately is Junior's voice. His chest compresses, tightening so painfully that this time he struggles for his next breath. He's not even able to complete a thought that each step of Junior jumping down the stairs echoes in his ears.

Mark rotates his whole body abruptly and,

"What's behind the wall that caught your interest? Someone's doing kinky in the school, and you saw, huh,  _you dog_?!"

 _Err, no_. Mark knows that he can't provide an explanation if Junior starts bombarding him with questions about why he's secretly looking at Junior's  _Jackson hyung_.

So he does the only choice that he can take: he runs-off.

-

The best ideas always come up in your mind a long time after you took your decision.

You think of the best retorts once the verbal fight is over. The solution of the problem appears in your head once the teacher has her hands on your test. And obviously, the thought that he could just make a stupid excuse like Jackson was doing something weird (which is not true, but it could have still saved Mark's ass a little) arrived that afternoon when he's walking home with Jaebum.

"Why would oyu run away? You're a fucking idiot."

Mark moans. "Why don't you sell yourself on eBay and get away from my life?"

(He doesn't like when Jaebum says that he's an idiot because he fucking knows that he is. So many things have happened that have made Mark realise that indeed he's idiotic.

The thought gets stronger when he can't help but still look at Jackson when he can at the canteen and when he shifts his look to the other guys of the Jackson gang, Junior is staring back at him.

And so is Jongin).

-

"You're late."

Mark scowls, looking down at the post-it in his hand.

"It says, 'meet us at 7.45 in my class on Friday, Mark Tuan. Junior&Jongin&(maybe)Youngjae(if he doesn't go to Daniel's house and stay there to sleep some more)'." He reads outloud.

"Really?" Junior deflates. He uncrosses his legs and then stands up. He catches the note from Mark who watches him narrow his eyes before looking surprised as he examines the written piece. "You're right." He says bitterly.

Mark sees Jongin, near the teaching post, face-palming. Then, he motions to Mark to close the door.

"We're not going to eat you." Mark likes how Jongin says it gently, sensing his hesitation and the stiffness. "We just want to _talk_."

But as he drags his foot inside and does what Jongin instructed him to do, and he limps a little forward, Junior immediately starts pacing circles around him.

"Is that necessary?" Mark asks, pointing his forefinger at the guy. 

"Yes."

"Absolutely not."

The two answer in unison.

Jongin sighs. "He'll get tired of it." He says to Mark, a little sorry.

"Oh, no, I do not really think so." Junior counters back. He fakes a laugh. "This person- -"  _Not Mark anymore._  "- -was spying on Jackson. And we do not trust people who spy on our friends. Especially not on Jackson Wang because that type of people is the worst," he says, words clipped and tone hard.

Mark takes every word thrown at him without saying anything. He knew when he saw the yellow post-it that this was the argument that they were going to talk about. Plus, Junior's not said anything that he can argue. He hates hearing it and he hates how his shoulders slump because _fuck, yes, that's it_. He sees a gleam of very explicable anger flash in Junior's eyes before the guy is on Mark's left, shuffling to get behind him to complete another circle.

"Jinyoung, I th- -" Jongin begins.

"Stop it!" Junior shouts at him. "The deal's that we both have the time to finish talking and the coin spoke: I talk first."

Jongin rolls his eyes, but recoils.

Mark does not take his eyes off Junior.

"I was looking for him too, you know?" Junior reassumes his speech, puffing a short furious sigh. "I've started looking for where the hell he's been going during his Jackson-depression time and you- -I remember seeing you all alone on the grass when we met for the first time. And I bet that Jackson was near where you were and you were staring. I do not fucking know why the fucking fuck you're doing it- -do some of your friends have unfinished business with him? Or with Eunhyuk hyung? If it's hyung, that's sick just let it go- -but I swear to Jesus fucking Christ that whatever your reason is, I'll fuck you up. If you are like the last guy who followed him home to warn him because his stupid girlfriend broke up with him because she liked Jackson and lied that Jackson asked her out when Jackson did not even know who she was- -I'm going to fucking make your life miserable- -don't- -you. You. _You do_   _not fuck with me_ , Mark Tuan."

 _Impressive_. But Eunhyuk? _Who is that?_  In the middle of the speech, Junior's stopped walking to lock his eyes intensely on Mark. Now, he's trembling a little, and  _really_ , life's a bitch full of surprises: Junior has gone protective and threatening on him full-force.

Mark is going to clear this up- -to say that he's meant no harm and he would never dare to hurt Jackson, but then everything hits him at once.

He's not like that guy. He's not, is he.  _No, I'm not- -I'm not_. Then,  _did Jackson get hurt when it happened? When did it happen?_  He's never heard about it, though.  _Never_. And Jackson is popular- -has always been popular since he came at this school. He's not questioning Junior's honesty because he doubts the other would invent something like that just to make Mark feel crashed.

"Who's the guy?" He asks feebly.

Junior's expression is stern. " That's not your fucking business. You just leave Jackson alone."

"I j- -"

"No!"

"Jinyoung!" Jongin admonishes the guy.

They stare at each other.

It feels like a competition. One which Jongin, whether because of Jongin's suddenly menacing demeanor or Junior's own sense that he's accused Mark too much, wins because Junior just huffs in protest and then, without batting an eye, he opens the door and closes it as hard as he can behind him.

Once the two of them are left alone, Jongin closes his eyes, massaging his temples. "He'll come back to apologise tomorrow after I had told him the situation. Don't worry."

Mark nods absently, a little shocked.

He gathers his composure a couple of seconds later.  _Fuck_. He needs to at least prove Jongin that he hasn't done the following for any bad purposes.

"I assure you that- -"  _But, wait_. "You said situation." A pause. He breathes. "I- -", but no words follow that.

"Jinyoung, he," Jongin says, scratching his nose, "doesn't, uhm, take well when people hurt his friends. Uhm. You probably saw that already. That sometimes leads to him getting angry for no reason, really." He chuckles.  _How the hell can you laugh in a moment like this?_  "He made a scene- -same as the one before with you. No, actually it was even worse- -to Youngjae when the guy started being very close to Daniel, and, boy, it's Daniel we're talking about. Now, Jinyoung and Youngjae are like brothers. So, don't worry much about Jinyoung being mad, okay? He's just complicated like that, and impulsive, kind of stupid too, but he's a good friend." A smile stretches on his features.

"Oh." Mark tends to elaborate his sentences ( _pft_ ) after being yelled at and then someone tells him not to take the person who yelled at him seriously.  _Uhm_. "What about the guy Junior was talking about?"

Jongin sighs. " _Slip of tongue_. That was supposed to be a secret. The student was from another school. Jackson broke his nose which led to him being suspended from our school for three days and me and the other guys spreading the false news that Jackson just got sick." 

"Ah," is all Mark can say because _holy shit, Jackson broke the guy's nose_. He's always known that the guy could fight, but it's still surprising. He's imagining a six feet guy being beaten by Jackson.  _Holy mother of holy shits_.

"About Jinyoung, I know him well and, as I said before, he will want to throw himself from a building once I told him that you're following Jackson just because you're- -well, you have a crush on him."

There is a moment when the words seem floating in the air before they slip inside Mark's ears and later, they enter his brain, sinking in it.

Then, Mark chokes on air.

Jongin's grin looks triumphant.

"I- -I."

"You are not very subtle, you know." Jongin's eyes are shining with glee. "First, you get tense and you plaster a very  _interesting_  expression on your face when Jackson's around. I often catch you staring at our table- -at Jackson. Like, I caught you craning your neck to look at him." Mark feels oh so very small. "Then there was the juice- -that you gave Jackson because, _mm_ , he looked thirsty." The other finishes, clapping his hands once.

His teasing tone is more scaring than Junior's ferocity. Jongin tilts his head on one side. "So do you like Jackson?"

"I- -"

"A simple yes or no, please."

Confessing it to Jaebum or to Laura (or to Nichkhun) was easy because he's known the three for so long and they've shared so many moments together (2/3 are his siblings.  _Please_ ) that even if he doesn't like being judged by them, he can live with it.

But Jongin is another story.

It's a bit awkward having this kind of conversation with a guy you do not know that much (and Jongin is Jackson's friend), and Mark knows that he could perfectly lie and shake his head (even if it is evident that he has a crush. Jongin has made  _a list_ ), but he can feel the blush spreading on his cheeks and reaching the tip of his ears. 

The guy wouldn't probably buy it if Mark told him no (the list.  _The list!_ ).

Mark swallows. "Kinda," he squeaks, and  _ohmygod_ , the heat intensifies. One second he's pressing his lips in a line, one second later he laughs nervously. He looks at his shoes, bangs falling in front of his eyes, feeling extremely vurnerable. "Please don't tell him."

And Mark should stop trying to figure out people's characters- -Junior is  _no_  longer just a  _ball of happiness_  and _rainbows_  and  _whines_  and  _hyungs_ , and Jongin is not nice because he bursts out laughing at a pleading Mark.

The other is wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. "Sorry." He says, but he doesn't sound apologetic at all. "What were you referring to? Please do not tell Jackson that you've been following him or please do not tell him that you like him?"

"Both." Mark answers.  _Stupid blush that won't stop making me look like a living tomato._  "If- -if Jackson still does not suspect that I like him. Huh, that."

Jongin stares at Mark briefly before he erupts in laughters again.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm really so sorry- -but try to understand: only a blind moron wouldn't have seen that you like Jackson." He says in between giggles. "And  _surprise_ , you've chosen the most damn oblivious person in the entire world, Mark. Jackson thinks you bought him apple juice because you offended his skateboard by asking him if her name's Lady with an 'insulting tone'." He air quotes.

Mark sincerely does not know why he internally hugs himself and pats himself on the back when it would have been better if Jackson knew about his  _oh_ ,  _uhm_ ,  _crush_ , because then maybe Jackson would have given him a little more of attention. 

_Or not_.

_No_ , come to think of it, it is better this way. Because let's recall the past events- -if Jackson knew about Mark's attraction for him all along and he did not say anything about it, it would have meant that Mark does not have the tiniest chance.  _Long live the obliviousness,_ he guesses.

"Not kidding?" He asks. It's lame, but he needs to be certain about this.

Jongin scoffs. "Of course." He starts humming contemplatively. "So do you need any cupid?"

"Cupid?"

"To shoot the arrow straight to little Jackson's heart."

Mark just blinks back for a moment, astonished by Jongin's attitude.

He doesn't get why the other is offering him to be his side-kick or to _mentor_ Mark in love- - he would not want to say this, but Mark knows he has to feel ashamed and guilty. No matter what Jongin's said, a part of Mark is affected by Junior's venomous words. "Aren't you- -I mean, I followed Jackson. And you're- -shouldn't you be a bit worried for your friend?"

"Why should I?" Jongin says with no hesitation. "No offense, but I highly doubt that a fluffy kitten is something I should worry about."

_Did he just- -_

"I'm not a kitten!" Mark replies instinctively. If he had to be compared to an animal he'd opt for a calm tiger, thank you. "Looks can be deceiving." He points out. ( _Seriously, Jaebum is way more intelligent than me. What a shame_ ).

Jongin tilts his head to the left this time, studying Mark's appearance with a scrutinizing eye. "I honestly am not understanding why you're trying to convince me that you're a bad guy." He comments afterwards. "Kitten. I will stake my reputation on you."

"Oh?"

Jongin nods eagerly. "I'm serious." He presses his index finger on his bottom lip, an odd gesture that Mark puts on the same level of the other scratching his nose: people do different things when they are getting nervous. "Besides, I've understood that Jackson's wild nature doesn't need more wildness nor it needs to be tamed. Maybe patience and being placated would help more." Press harder. "Jackson doesn't need any more bitches bitching or douchebags complaining."

Mark almost gapes. "And you think that I- -?"

"It seems so." Jongin gives him a shy smile.

He agrees.

-

Mark is a forgiving person so Junior should really stop kneeling in front of him.

The way Junior bows his head and endlessly tells Mark's legs that he is forever in debt with Mark and he will do anything just to make him happy- -it gives a wrong idea on what truly happened to the studenty body and it makes Mark sound like an utterly horrible dick.

"Do I have to kiss your feet?"

He bends so that he can say eye-to-eye, "Please, listen to me and get up. _I'm forgiving you_. _You are forgiven_. I will pretend that you said nothing- -but please,  _get up_."

"No, you shouldn't forgive me so easily." Junior complains to Mark's hands which itch to get a hold of the guy and force him to stand up, but they can't because of the begging that has attracted many looks on them.

"Junior, I know that you said those things- -"

"Don't try to make excuses for my unforgivable behavior!"

"But I'm really forgiving you."

"And I'm telling you that you shouldn't!"

_What the fuck._ Jongin did not warn him about the super-stubborness that was coming. _And he said tomorrow, not this same afternoon_. But Mark being able to persuade Junior is still very doubtful even given twenty-four hours because the apologies being delivered like this- - _shit_.

Mark doesn't know how long it has been since the last time he looked at Jaebum as a savior. His best friend backhands Junior on his head before literally pinching the guy's ear to drag him out of the school building with Mark tailing behind them. He doesn't let go even when Junior's  _ouch_  becomes louder and not even when the guy starts whining in pain and tries to pull himself off only for the fingers to twist their pinch. 

"Aw, aw, aw, aw, aw, aw," Junior keeps rubbing his ear when he gets released. "Heartless bastard."

" _Che._ " Jaebum says. "You're a fucking pain in the ass. Why must you always overdo everything? If he tells you that you're forgiven, you are!"

Junior pushes his lips forward in a pout, eyes watering. "It hurts."

"Must do." Mark comments. "It's really red."

"You had no right to harass me!" Junior wails at Mark's best friend. His hand is covering his ear protectively, afraid that Jaebum might attack again. "It was between me and Mark!"

"Oh, for fuck's sake."

"Guys." Mark says, giving a look to both of them. "Junior, I am not blaming you for earlier. I get why you threw me those accusation and  _okay_. It was only fair that you got worried for Jackson." He feels weary- -exhausted. All he wants is to come back home, have dinner and then lock himself in his room and sleep until tomorrow morning. 

Jaebum blinks rapidly, and it's clear that he's struggling to keep a straight face (because his lips are twitching) when Junior says with his eyebrows drawn together. "Speaking of the _devil_ , are you sure that you like him?" He asks. "Jackson peed on a vase when he was drunk."

Mark's eyes widen a little. "Ah." He coughs. _Wow, just wow_. The phase Jackson-hyung has turned to Jackson-who-peed.  _This person is sure, uhm, unique._  "Okay. Drunkenness makes everything blurry- -"

"Fuck, you're smitten." Junior cuts him off, then he's snickering. "I'm thinking what that says about you since you are actually defending your crush for urinating on someone else's property."

Another long day. He'll collapse at home.

-

There are some things you've come to realise if you've read everything carefully (Mark has always pointed them out so it just cannot be that you guys have not seen them. He would really like to invite you to re-read the whole thing if you think that you've missed something): Mark doesn't get what he wants. Never. He's never got it, and when he does, it is just Luck of Life or  _something_  that tries to convince Mark to let his guard down before he fucks with his existence.

(He's repeated that oh so many times and you're probably going to hear it again. All he can say is  _accept the repetitive words_  or  _good bye)_.

Mark's promise to Junior and Jongin is to leave the Jackson-subject to them.

He's entrusted his future-love-life on the two people's hands and they chirped that Mark should just get himself always ready and that they do act fast.

-

"Jesus Christ."

"Just Jackson is fine."

_Is he allowed to be funny too?_ Jackson already has all the handsome, if he takes the fun too then that will leave nothing to Mark.  _The brains?_  No.

Jackson looks stunning. 

The first thing that Mark notices about him is that there's hair sticking out of the cap, covering the part of his forehead that it isn't hidden by the visor up to his eyebrows.

And that alone makes Mark cringe when he thinks about how he's looking right now when he's got ketchup stain on his pants because fucking Junior pushed him from behind and Mark did get so surprised that he squeezed the container which was open. He did not have time to clean himself up that Junior was already telling him to get up.

He secretly glances at the offending spot. 

He mentally groans.

_Why the hell didn't Junior tell him that the urgency that was waiting for him near the soccer field was Jackson?_ Mark sometimes wonders if he did some sins in his past lives- -it would be more believable than the karma-theory.

Why didn't Junior tell him?

Be always ready was not enough warning,  _goddammit_.

"You always have these moments when you forget how to human."

Mark snaps out of his thoughts.  _No more spacing out, shit_.

"Uh, what?" He says, cursing himself. He wonders if it's bad for his health to have Jackson around because different parts of his body start to react strangely: there is always something that gets hot, be it only his hands or his whole being; his brain cells seem to purposely collide against each other until they turn into crumbles thus Mark feeling his head light; but it is his heart the part that gets more affected because it can turn from stop beating to thumping to flutter or, the new entry is his heart becoming so big that his chest cannot contain it.

Jackson is chewing on a straw in between his lips.  _When did that appear?_

"They sent me here." His eyes don't look elsewhere and Mark finds himself staring back because he _likes_  staring at Jackson and really, if the other is looking for a staring competition Mark will gladly give him.

Then, after a couple of seconds, Jackson's face breaks into one big grimace, contorting his features in what seems like frustration. "You are- -" He mutters so slowly that Mark doesn't get the last words.

Jackson raises his hand at the level of their shoulders and before Mark can question what he's doing, said hand is pressing on his face.

"Hey!" Mark protests, his instinct guiding him into shoving Jackson away. He realises his action once he already did it and with horror, he watches Jackson getting ready to attack him- - - _wrong_. Jackson is, for the first time of Mark's life, looking at him with an amused expression.

Amused.

At Mark.

As if it was difficult to imagine that putting his hands on people's faces would have not elicited Mark's same reaction.

However, Mark still gives him a mortified look because he didn't really mean to. Again.  _Seriously, fuck.My.Life._

"I don't fall for puppy cute eyes." Jackson says and,  _holy shit, is that a hint of a smile on his lips?_  He stretches his arms and then bends them behind his head. "My little cousin, Yugyeom, he's 3, and he can beat you- -hell, that boy is a pup. So, I've got experience and you can quit making that crap, dude."

Mark bites the inside of his cheeks before he can sputter something ridiculous such as _I beg to differ: you're the only puppy-person_ , but then this tempts him into staring at Jackson's own looking smooth cheeks and when Jackson says something again, Mark looks at two rows of perfect teeth and now he wants to kiss the guy so bad that he feels it in his whole body, fingertips and the soles of his feet included.

Fingers are snapping in front of his eyes.

 _Shit. Again. Same shit again_.

He straightens his back and he opens his mouth.

"You're sorry?" Jackson suggests him.

Mark's mouth remains agape. For a second. Then he closes it to just nod. "Yes," he wants to die. "Yes, I'm sorry. I'm not really like this. I can function properly, it's just that there are times- -when I'm thinking so much that I- -"

"You're rambling."

 _God, kill me_.

"Uh, yes. I'm sorry."

Jackson's shaking his head at him with a full bright smile on his face.  _It's an illusion, isn't it, but tell me it's not_.

"Mark," he says, and _yes_ , Mark's heart is too big for his chest, "I gotta tell you something, but I want it to be quick so you clear your ears and listen to me without getting distracted." He orders, but his tone is not hard.

"Uh. Okay." _Anything for you_.

"So the guys, Jinyoung and Jongin, they want you to be part of the group and for some shit reason that only them know, they said that it's me who has to decide whether you can be in or not. They sent me here to tell you the condition- -uh you know that you have to make something pretty Awesome capital A?"

Mark shakes his head.  _Something's telling me that I won't like it_. Fucking Jongin and fucking Junior. Be part of the Jackson's gang- -why would they tell Jackson that?

 _Why would- -_  He blinks twice.

Jackson's gang⇒Mark will always get to sit at their table⇒Mark will probably hang out with them- -Jackson⇒Many other Jackson-related things.

 _Okay_. He understands. "What should I do?"

The other is smirking. Mark swallows,  _sexy_. "Surprise me."

"Surp- -how?"

Jackson shrugs. "You heard about the student who ran naked in the principal's office with a Halloween mask on?" He says, a smug look on his face. "Little Daniel. And the guy who covered the bio-lab with insects and worms was Youngjae."

 _Oh, fuck . No, Fuck capital F_.

"So," Mark looks  _a bit_  appalled, "I have to do something crazy that, uhm, breaks school rules?"

"You don't have to," Jackson says, ducking his head a little, "but if you don't, it will be very _boring_." He shoots Mark another fabulous smirk before holding up two fingers. "Done my part. Let me know if you wanna be one of us."

-

Jaebum's jaw drops when the very next day Mark comes to school with red hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated.


	4. Mark's red hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> un-betaed; I'll correct all of grammar mistakes later, I swear

You have those moments in your life. When after doing something you categorise as drastic and life-changing and that had seemed such a good idea just a few seconds ago, you pause for a certain amount of time because you get hit hard by the sudden and clear realisation that  _wrong_. You've made one thing that you will regret later- -for the next few hours, days, years, life. 

It may seem a little exaggerated because it's just the color of his hair.

 _Well_ , one,  _thanks_  for being understanding, guys (no, not really). Two, this is an important matter, let's not take this as a joke: aren't you supposed to be on his side? You are all in this together with Mark. That's the deal. And let him add that if you are just here because you want to laugh at the shit that happens to him everyday, then you're cordially invited to leave this place and please, do never come back again. 

For those who are concerned, the first thing he wants to say is  _thank you_. You are all adorable, lovely, immensely smart and absolutely the kindest souls in this fucked up world. Mark is going to share his thoughts about his changement with you because he knows for sure that you're not going to just snicker.

(Hopefully).

-

On a scale from one to ten, Mark's love for his new red hair before going to school was under seven for different reasons. When he arrived at school- -well, his point of view took a whole different road. From a negative number it almost turned into a nine, but let's talk about this later (plus, never ever get fooled by the good ending of this sentence. Why?  _I say Unlucky, you say Mark_ ).

For now, let's focus on Mark's changing opinion because he thinks that this is interesting for the development of the story.

 _Lie_.

It's just that saying all the frustrated things that happened to you makes you feel somehow better in the end.

Anyway, one reason probably holds more importance than the other because the first is about Mark not feeling the slightest bit comfortable coming back home to get shouted at by his mother and to receive simpathetic, yet judging looks from the other components of his family. He could feel in every fiber of his body before putting the key in the door, that  _oh_ , his genius for having elaborated such a big surprise for Jackson was not going to be appreciated by any of them.

He can't possibly tell them that the flaming color that he's now sporting is all because he wants to be in a gang. Actually it's for a guy- -stop. He's going to continue saying that they would have probably comprehended if he had have the chance to justify himself using those words, but as he replays the one and half sentence, he notices that it sounds a little stupid. In his defense, he'd like to say that it was so much better in his mind.

Nichkhun, his mom and his dad think that him dyeing his hair into a very bright thus too noticeable color will certainly gain attention at school and it won't be good since that goes against some rules. Mark hasn't  _obviously_  told them yet that it's exactly his intention.

Their words had been somewhat encouraging- - because Mark'd thought about being integrated in the group because of this action - - and utterly discouraging because he hadn't seen his family agreeing that he made the wrong choice since when he was like four orfive and he said that he'd prefer buying the Spiderman toy instead of the 'cool', as he remembers his father calling it, gadget of Hulk.

After hearing their opinion, Mark honestly didn't know what to think of when he stared at himself in the mirror. He predicted that they would have not be elated about his red hair, but it did not make him feel less uneasy at the end of the confrontation.

 _Ah_. He almost forgot to tell you about Laura.

You guys have to hear this.

Mark is so going to wrap his sister with  _tissues_ , put her in a package and send it overseas in some foreign country with absolutely no high-tech- - like some places in Africa for example - -in order not to see her for at least a couple of years. He would  _probably_  visit her and maybe bring her back only home after she'd learnt to stop ruining his mood when it's already bad. 

Because you see, Laura being crazy, think-of-herself-as-sophisticated-but-she-is-not, fussy, overly sassy and full of ego and make up Laura was just eyeing Mark's hair without saying anything at the beginning.

She expressed her dislike right after knowing that Mark did not go to her hairdresser ( _c_ _razy_. Why the hell would Mark go to his older sister's hairdresser if that shop is exclusively for women?) and she said that the products that the guy of the salon used on Mark were probably cheap, resulting to the quality of the work fading in a month or two or even less. And to  _split-ends_.

Mark has never cared about fucking split-ends. He's definitely not going to begin now.

His sister gave him the most disgusted expression that she'd ever shown him before that moment and then she promptly sided the other three members of their family.

He'd never been so disappointed with her- -giving him up like this because his hair is going to be ugly.  _Fucking sisters and their sick ways of judging people_.

When he got to the school building, the thought of having not made a wrong decision's brought to life first thanks to the curious and some hard looks that he got from random students and then thanks to Jaebum whose inability to talk gave Mark the biggest amount of hope he could ask for. He allowed himself to be enveloped in a cloud of positivity and he was almost imagining to be doing a small victory song after Jackson had announced him that he was accepted in the gang.

The only thing that happened, though, and that Mark did not expect at all was to be called by the president of the student body.

Don't get him wrong- -he knew that he was going to receive a reprimand or that he would probably be intimated to change his color back to normal. It's only that he was hoping to face the principal, not Wu Yifan.

That's the moment when he realises with blinding clarity that he made a terrible decision.

 _Goddammit_.

-

He isn't scary because he's got powers in the school.

 _Okay_. That's not partly true.

Wu Yifan and the members of the council have the students' respect except maybe for a minority. Of course, people think twice before disobeying them. These elected individuals are the head of the school and the vice-principal's  _sidekicks_  and that give them a lot of authority after all.

Mark sees them every week when they're surveying the classes or when they're disciplining those who don't follow the regulations, sometimes immediately reporting them to one of their  _bosses_.

And before you start complaining over not ever having heard of the existence of this structure in the school, Mark would like to have the chance to explain first why he's never mentioned them until now.

Well, for one, he'd never gotten involved in anything that required their intervention and, two, even if Jackson and his friends are in front of the student council on a daily basis (Mark did not say their names, but it's almost pretty obvious that they're part of the mentioned small minority), that is not particularly relevant.

It is not like his crush & co being scolded and then being sent to the head of the school's office is some big news. It's an information that doesn't need to be revealed.

It's somewhat implied.

Because you cannot say that you haven't thought about it.

Were you really expecting that high-schoolers could skip their classes slash do whatever the hell they want without consequences?

 _C'mon_. You've got to be kidding Mark.

Back to talking about things that are actually happening at this very moment, it's more the president's appearance rather than his position that gives off intimidating vibes.

There's only a table that is separating Mark from Wu Yifan- -or, as he likes to refer at himself during his endless speeches regarding morality, decor and sense of responsability,  _WuFan_.

Mark is sitting with his back straight, leaning againts the furniture and with his legs perfectly parallel to each other even though the other person can't see them. He's not going to hide the fact that he would be equally tensed if it was the principal who wanted to exchange a few words with him, but he doubts that he would feel the palpitation reverberating in his ears like this.

WuFan is turning the pages of what looks like Mark's reporting card and,  _fuck_ , he knows that it is clear because Mark hasn't done anything wrong in three years of studying in this fucking place, but he cannot shrug off the anxiety.

The president of the student council is tall as a tower. A skyscraper. A  _New York skyscraper_. No, don't laugh guys and don't you dare say that Mark is lying because he's not. Wu _motherfucker_  Yifan is the tallest person in the entire school with his 6'1'' feet. The height isn't the only characteristic that makes him a very intimidating figure, though. The permanent scowl on his forehead, his defined jaw line and, this is going to sound funny, but again, it is not and it is true, Wu Yifan has commuticative eyebrows- - they all contibrute into making Wu Yifan's image.

Right now, the president is giving him a speculative look and the single raising eyebrow is telling Mark that he has nothing good reserved for him.

"So, mister Mark Tuan?" WuFan says.  _Why does he have to sound so formal?_  He immediately responds at his own question with a dismissive. "Yes, right. I took a very brief look at your folder. It seems that you're actually a good student. Not a top ten student, but your grades are more than average." He pulls his chair out and Mark sees him sit down gracefully.

 _Does he think that he's sitting on a throne?_  WuFan rests his arm on the armrest and then puts his forearm up so that his fingers can delicately caress his chin.

"Is there a reason behind that abomination going on your head?" He asks straight to the point. It doesn't sound like a question, though. His eyebrows go up for a fraction of time so brief that if Mark wasn't looking so intently trying to decipher the secret meaning of every little movement he would have missed it.

"No, uh- -" Mark diverts his gaze from the forehead area of the other to the table when he hears the sound of a desk drawer sliding open and then WuFan is swiping the screen of an iPad with his free hand. "No,  _sir_ , not really." He lies as the president of the student council looks up at him, probably waiting to hear a complete sentence.

He offers Mark a smile. It doesn't look genuine- -it is practiced. Kind of forced and tight. "Please, call me WuFan. Although, I've been appointed to this office, that doesn't automatically give me any label unless it's President Wu. You can call me that if you don't appreciate my nickname." 

 _Oh, well_. Mark answers with a nod.  _Isn't he unnerving?_  Just, are Wu Yifan's pants uniform and the collar of his shirt too tight thus air doesn't reach his head and he can't talk like a normal human being?  _He is so fucking getting on me_.

WuFan has his eyes on his iPad again. He makes some researches on Google that have Mark frowning because he can't figure out what the other is looking for and why exactly he's using Google at the moment. After a couple of minutes scrolling down, he's lifting a disbelieving eyebrow at Mark.

"Say,"  _oh_. The short pause that follows the first word plus the blank expression and the coming back to its position that WuFan's brow is doing terrify him, "are you trying to join the rebels of our school?"

"How do- -" Mark stops from spluttering out his surprised very manly  _squeak_  (delete. Cancel. Erase.  _Throw away_  that noun). Instead he gives himself seconds of silence to regain his composure. "No, Pres- -WuFan." Because he's not going to acknowledge the authority of the other's persona by referring to him with the other  _nickname_. 

Absolutely not.

Not to people who are trying to conceal their real nature behind a polite mask.

That is not how things go with Mark.

He much more likes open assholes rather than WuFan-like people.

Now that he's looking back at the president who seems like being able to look through him at his very soul, Mark recalls WuFan making six students' lives a living hell by torturing them for an entire week, sending his assistants after them to note each wrong move of them. And when two of the poor guys tried to go against him- -there was a meeting that every single student had to attend. It was a long monologue about the importance of the representative structure of the student body and how they're helping to improve their school. At the end of it, there were examples of the things you shouldn't do in order not to ruin anything. To summarise it, WuFan talked about those three guys, pointed out all the things that they did not do well in his eyes. He  _embarassed_  them in front of everyone.

Same treatment was planned to be adopted on Jackson, Jinyoung and Youngjae (if Mark's not wrong. He isn't sure if the last person got nominated in the list), but at the end of the speech, the three (or two?) were nowhere to be found.

That crossed the line- -it signed the era of Jackson's gang and WuFan's war.

However, these days it's the principal who's taking care of the Jackson and group's vicenda since a lot of teachers are complaining about the guys' not pleasant behavior.

Sometimes, WuFan still intervenes, but mostly is the main boss doing the work.

 _Must be hard to control a Jackson Wang and his comrades_.

But he suspects that the president's hatred stems mostly from despite the fact that there are things happening in the school- - like insects in the lab- -he hasn't found anything yet that demonstrate that there are Jackson and company behind them. All WuFan's got so far is punishing a little the guys for not doing their homework daily, for sometimes skipping classes, for catching the gang going to prohibited places in school- -minor things.  _He wants to prove there's Jackson's mark behind the big pranks_.

"Mister Tuan." WuFan cuts Mark's train of thoughts. "Education says that when asked a question, one should give an answer."

"Forgive my rudeness." He doesn't snap, even if it sounds like it. There is certainly a difference between doing something intentionally and not. WuFan is giving him a very disapproving stare. Mark does not give an apology, though.  _YiFan could suck my- -a lemon. Yeah._  And he wouldn't still say sorry nor defend himself by saying that he didn't mean it. "There's no connection between my red hair and the group that you mentioned." He adds instead, shifting uncomfortably under the pressure the other's look is putting him under.

"Are you sure?" WuFan has the decency to talk to him with a straight face at least. He doesn't sneer or let out any kind of sound nor show any kind of emotion that could make Mark think that he knows that he isn't being told the truth. He's putting away his device, hiding it back to its place. "Jackson Wang is an element who needs to realise which is the proper behavior to keep in a school." He joints his hands together. "He and his friends will learn one of these days." WuFan promises in the end.

Mark doesn't reply at the beginning. He's pressing his lips together like he's trying to crush something between them.  _Fuck you, man_. 

"Can I have your word that your dyed hair has nothing to do with their  _tests_  to determine if you're qualified to enter their  _gang_?"

His best friend Jaebum has always expressed how much he doesn't like Jackson Wang and he calls him and the others names, and  _yeah_ , he wears pretty sour expressions when he talks about them, but WuFan's ability to gather as much dislike as he can in his words without letting his facial features move except for a brow or both of them is impressive.

"I don't wish to be part of their  _gang_."

"Really." Mark will burn those fucking eyebrows. He swears.

"Yes, really."

Nothing in the world will be able to convince Mark to put the guys in his mess. He will never involve them, especially if we're talking about Jackson getting another underline in the WuFan's black agenda.

He's taken aback when the president suddenly lets out a long and suffering sigh.

WuFan's still in the same sitting position, forearm still placed like before, but this time his fingers are massaging his closed eyelids. "Mister Tuan."  _Will he fucking stop?_ Not even Mark's parents talk like that with their colleagues or with clients. They're formal,  _yes_ , but they do not sound so oppressive and fucking annoying. "I was giving you many chances to reveal the truth."

Mark soaks in the information. "What."

"Were you seriously thinking that I would repeat myself so many times without a final goal?" WuFan uncovers his eyes, blinking them open. He tilts his head a little on the left. "I'm going to reveal you one thing, mister Tuan, so listen carefully and think about how much it's worth taking the side of people who do absolutely nothing except influencing badly other students. I'll admit with sorrow that Jackson Wang and gang have a growing number of  _fans_  that  _gossip_  about them every time they can and since my  _co-workers_  and I walk the halls of this building twice a day, we have heard about your little hang-outs with those people."

Will there be a day when nobody makes him feel like a moron?

Mark doesn't want to say that he looks like someone has written 'loser' on his whole face with permanent marker and that he's aware of it, but since it will be useless to try to clean the writing because it's hard to erase and it will still be a little readable even after rubbing for a cretain number of times, he just stands there wearing the most pitiful expression. He doesn't want to say it because it seems so very fucking embarassing even for someone like him.

So, he won't say it. 

"Ah." No.  _Definitely not going to say just that_. His hands are getting sweaty. "I mean- -ah, aaah, no. Still nothing to do with them." God, please save him. " _My hair_. It has nothing to do with Jackson and the others. That."

WuFan's identical twins beg to differ. He leans forward, one elbow on the table. "I feel insulted by your blatant lies, mister Tuan. Here I am, being benevolent- -giving you different possibilities to get away from being accused of doing something against the rules and this is the compensation I receive from you?" 

For a moment Mark considers punching the air with one hand- -Wu motherfucker Yifan has lost some of his unbearable politeness because of him. He will add this to the achievements of the year list.  _Would I gain points if I tell Jackson about this?_  He hopes so. It will cover the ones he'll lose for sure once the group finds out that he did not have a face to face with the principal nor with the vice.

 _Only with the grumpy secretary_.

"Will mister be so kind to share with me why he's  _giggling_  when there's nothing funny going on?" With horror Mark sees the president transforming from a fake civilized and bothering human being to the reincarnation of a demon. WuFan's eyes get dark and his facial features get hard too, lips drawing a perfect line.

Mark doesn't gulp. He's learning how not to show his fear to anyone. (Pressing his back to the chair and planting his feet on the floor are not signs of anything. Just for your info).

 _Did he say that I was giggling?_  Because excuse you, Wu YiFan, but Mark doesn't giggle.

"Can I have sincere answers, please?" Maybe WuFan is really a supernatural being. A demon.  _Yes_. Because Mark will like swear on all the material things precious to him if you want, but the guy looked like he didn't move his mouth at all when he spoke. "Mister Tuan?" You know that thing they say about people being a thousand times more scary when they lower their voices to the point that it sounds creepily husky instead of simply screaming until their lungs are empty? That's what WuFan is doing.

If Mark hangs his head a little, not being able to hold back the terrifying gaze without feeling a shiver run down his spine,  _no one_ can blame him. "That's what I've been doing." He would be proud of himself because  _hey_ , he's never been so good at lying ( _do not_. Mark will murder your teddy bears if you counter him. This is just him trying to comfort himself. He knows that WuFan isn't believing the bullshit he's said to him, but let a guy have a moment of happiness. Would you?) but the other suddenly bolts up from his chair.

WuFan lets out a humorless little laugh.

There's a palpable silence that lasts until the president fixes the collar of his shirt.

"Above the average students could take help from the student body." He says slowly, pacing in the space behind the table. "Putting aside the few days when you arrived late at school, your folder lacks of reports."

"You didn't mention that part about my lateness." Mark blurts out. He recoils immediately after that. "But it's fine. And no, thank you, you can keep all the help. I don't need it." 

 _500 hundred points to Mark Tuan_.

"Everybody  _needs_  it." The president of the council disagrees. "Think for a second about how much easier your school life would be if  _we_  had your back." He insists, now using a tone that most people would think of as friendly, but Mark knows it's another strategy- -a fake gentle voice to convince him. "You want to stay at home because you need a pause from all the studying? Two days? Three days of break?  _Conceded_."

_What._

"Admit that  _Jackson Wang_  is involved and I'll close an eye." There he goes again with the stupid smile. "And more."

Mark stares.

_Fucking hypocrite. What a son of a bitch. Fucking president of my fucking student body and fuck the fucking rules. What a- -_

"So I deduct from your words, mister Tuan, that it's a big no." WuFan states and  _okay_ , fuck, kick Mark's mouth like _right now_. 

-

Contrary to popular belief, Jaebum can be the sweetest best friend sometimes. He can be a barrel of kittens and butterflies and rainbows when he chooses to be.

It happens on rare times, though.

Mark is always taken aback because it is too sudden and he's used to having Jaebum being a bastard for almost every day of the four seasons that when his best friend turns off that façade and becomes a prince of gentleness, he has the urge to ask what the fuck has Jaebum eaten wrong.

"Okay." Jaebum says before pushing Mark on his chest who, because of that, hits the floor pretty hard. His grin is megawatt as he looks at the offended eyes of the other. "You want the evil me? Fine. As you wish,  _Ariana_."

"Do I want to know who's this girl and why I got the priviledge of being called like her?" Mark and sarcasm are the biggest buddies when he feels dust and eraser crumbs under his palms.

Jaebum doesn't even offer him a hand to get up. He sits on a random desk near him. "Probably not."

There is nobody who's attended the scene, luckily. Mark guesses that it is because there's still some time left before History.

When he left the student council's room, his intention was to drop at the canteen. You see, might as well check if Jackson and company were looking for him because you know, Mark's still clinging to the hopeless thought that the guy's already taken his decision about the Mark matter.  _Unfortunately_ \- - you knew this was coming, right? - -his best friend just had to call him and told him to hurry up and come back in their classroom when he was about to check if his wish got fulfilled or not. He couldn't say no since his best friend ended the phone call informing him that he bought him a ham and lettuce sandwich and he wasn't hungry before hearing something about food, but then he was.

A day may come when his body accepts that his stomach is _not_  always the one which has priority during these moments, but it is not this day. (Besides, what if it turned out that the members did not know anything about WuFan calling Mark yet?)

Maybe when Jackson's his boyfriend, he'll start being Mark's only preoccupation- - _joking_. He already is. Mark's only uh,  ~~sweetheart~~   ~~guy in mind~~ person. That probably doesn't need to be pointed out like this because it was clear from the very beginning, right?  _Whatever, okay_.

"Will you tell me what you and Captain Tight Pants talked about," Jaebum always has to interrupt Mark when he's in the middle of an important thinking too, "or all I get is to watch you day-dream?"

He glares at his best friend.

"And before you start whining, I'll say that you owe me money for your lunch and you hurt me when I was trying to be nice to you. Either you pay me instantly, or you spill the beans out." Jaebum says, playing with the zip of the pencilcase that's placed on the desk he's sitting on.

Mark huffs. "It wasn't even good. There was no ham." He rubs his hands together to remove all the dirt. It takes him more time to stand up because he spends a couple of seconds flicking his eyes to Jaebum and himself, waiting for the other to catch the drift and help him.

Jaebum understands, but he just smirks at him. "Is this Jieun's?" He picks up a pink ballpen and shakes it. He purposely momentarily changes their topic.

"Remind me again why I'm friends with you." Mark shakes his head. He stretches his back. He hisses in pain. "You didn't have to shove me like that, you fucking jerk. Next time I'm cutting off all of our connections. Fuck the friendship for years."

The other rolls his eyes. "Bla bla bla," he mutters under his breath, but being the only two in the room, Mark hears everything perfectly. "Man, chill." He exhales exaggeratedly. "You're like my aunt on menopause- -you can't even take a joke,  _God_.  'Sides we have a cookie bond. That can't be easily broken."

The second eye-roll is a surprise because Mark is pretty sure that he hasn't said anything yet. Or done. But of course Jaebum contradicts him. "Stop looking at me like I murdered a fucking bunny- -you know wha- -okay.  _Oookay_. You're  _not_  on menopause. I'm sorry." He has the nerve to sound like it's Mark who has initiated the bickering.

Well, he has not. 

And he's mature enough not to tell Jaebum that they don't really have any bond since Mark didn't get to eat the cookie. He doesn't pinpoint that he hasn't made any expression after being insulted. Plus, he won't say aloud that he's mature to go back to the main subject of their conversation. 

"Usinf a few essential words, Wu YiFan, president of the student body, role model for every people studying here, tried to corrupt me. And oh, he'll tell me what's my punishment soon," he says as non-chalantly as possible and his aim is to stop everything there and not proceed on narrating anything else because for once, he wants Jaebum to know how it feels to have the worst best friend in the history of best friends.

Jaebum is scribbling something on Ji-Eun's desk with the girl's red and black pens. He looks back at Mark and the latter doesn't know if he hates himself or Jaebum more, because he fails when the question that he receives actually cannot be avoided. "Did anyone tell you that Jackson went here and asked for you?"

His throat goes dry. "What. What. No, did- -"

"Good." Jaebum interrupts. "Because he  _didn't_." And then he's cackling.

The other's begging after that trying to extract more information from Mark.

It's pointless and the reason is that he, Lim Jaebum, is a fucking bastard.

-

The professors before the break didn't pay more than a long odd stare at Mark, but from History to Science, he's the center of the teachers' unwanted attention.

They give him a roasting- -each of them.

The worst comes when mrs Lee assumes that things at home aren't going on well and Mark is at the beginning of a rebellious phase. She's young compared to the other teachers, a bit crazy- - _scratch that_. Very crazy. She starts with telling Mark that she hopes he won't keep on showing his disappointment or whichever feeling he has with these kind of acts and she doesn't stop with her assumptions not even when Mark finally says that his family is just a little upset.

"You've got the patience of a saint, bro." Jaebum is patting Mark's head in what he thinks it is a way to placate the friend's irritation, but it only contributes in adding more fuel. "If I were you, I'd have thrown something at her. Fuck."

Mark bats the hand away. He lets out a quiet irritated breath. "I'd rather have you blabber about other things, JB." That would distract him from the insane thought of wanting to murder someone. Likely a person who provides schooling for students.  _Throwing things is not enough sometimes_.

"Calm your tits." Jaebum says instead. He's shitty. The last guy in the world that you'd like to have around you because he's often just so damn  _dense_. Which part of Mark asking him for help didn't he grasp?

 _Fine_. Maybe it did not come out very nicely and maybe it didn't seem like a hey-bestie(you didn't read that)-rescue-me-please, but they've known each other for so many years that Jaebum should have been able to interpret Mark's phrasing sentences.

He doesn't reply at his friend.

Mark grabs each of his belongings on the desk and just throw them inside his rucksack and even if Jaebum tells him something along the line of 'man, you ain't no saint right now tho', it enters from an ear and exits through the other. 

"Hey! Wait up, bitch!"

But he is already at the door.

He has a foot out of the classroom when he lets out a half-shout because of Junior's face appearing from nowhere in front of his and screaming something that Mark doesn't understand. "Holy fuck, Junior!" He is grabbing the front of his own uniform. "Do you want me to die young?"

Junior levels him with a look. "Only if you have already felt the pleasure of having sex with someone."

"Huh?"

"Then no, he cannot die yet." Jaebum meddles in, stepping in the hall. He crosses his arms and leans against the wall.

"You're saying that he's still a vi- -"

"Absolutely."

Junior whistles. "I see. I can't really say that I didn't expect that from him."

"We're sixteen, dude. Who are you to judge him?"

"He can do whatever he wants, hey." Junior is raising his hands. "Wait. Are you defending him because you're friends or because you're a virg- -"

" _He_  is still right here." Mark sighs heavily, running a hand over his eyes. He's just discovered that he prefers hearing his best friend and Junior arguing instead of having the two teaming up against him. He can't help the blush that forces its way on his face when he faces Junior. "Can we please stop with- -" He makes grand gestures at himself with his hands, hoping that the other will get that he doesn't want to continue talking about his sexual life.  _That's so random_. "- -and listen to what you have to say?"

Apparently, a guy that has known him for only a couple of days is better at getting Mark's hints than Jaebum.

Junior chuckles, eyes full of amusement. "We're going to have a  _picnic_  in the gym of the school." He says it with so much enthusiasm that Mark would have let himself being engulfed in the feeling, but he's not sure about how to welcome the news.

Because it takes Mark approximately zero seconds to associate that with his affair.  _Fucking finally_. He won't deny that he's shaking slightly. One day he'll understand why hearts have to pound so damn much- -can't it be another part of your body going wild?

"Is it about Jackson's deci- -"

"That's not a picnic if you're going to do it indoors." Jaebum points out as he bends down to tie the laces of his shoe.

Mark ignores his friend. He's looking at Junior and the other is looking back at him. "Is this- -" He starts saying again before the black haired guy shifts his gaze on Jaebum.

Ah.

It's the national day of let's ignore Mark Tuan. Why didn't anybody inform him?

"What do you call a meal in a gym?"

"I don't know." Jaebum says totally not helpful. He's standing up again now. "But definitely not a picnic."

Junior grunts. "Smartasses not able to give answers are my favorite."

Mark definitely agrees. Now if they could go back to- -

"At least I'm not wrong." 

"But you're useless and grumpy."

"Before you start calling people that, you may want to search for the meaning of those adjectives, boy. They cannot be referred to me."

"Don't you boy me, Grumpy."

Jaebum only smirks. "Oh, did I offend your majesty- _sshi_? I'm so sorry."

"Is this not picnic related to me passing the test and being accepted?" Mark has raised his voice a little too much maybe because it echoes and the two are turning their heads at him with surprised expressions. He is dying to know the reason of the invitation that he doesn't care the slightest bit about their reactions.

Junior is blinking, seeming to momentarily not be able to forget the sudden shout. His eyes shoot around. Mark refuses to do the same. In the end he quirks an eyebrow. "Of course it has to do with hyung." He mumbles.

"Really?!"

"Yes, but- -" Mark doesn't know why Junior is covering his mouth. He doesn't like it. "- -keep it low, okay? We don't want anyone else to find that out yet."

"And why is that?" His best friend inquires, finally doing something to mantain their friendship in tact by saying that in a demanding tone.

In the meanwhile, Mark detaches his face from Junior's palm and spits out after he dumbly licks his lips. They're salty. _Gross_. 

"Too early." Junior answers, short and vague. His shoulders tense up under the others' gazes at him. "I can't reveal why. It's a group thing- -a  _secret_  to keep." He hastens to add.

"Ain't that cute." Jaebum deadpans. He then stuffs his hands in his pockets and begins rocking his body back and forth. "So, is having a meal in the gym allowed now? 'Cause last time I checked and it was yesterday, there's this big sign outside saying that bringing food and drinks inside is forbidden. And as far as I know, the place is locked at this hour, isn't it?"

"And it is still like that of course. The sign hasn't gone anywhere, I guess." Junior says sarcastically, looking at the other guy as if he's stupid. "We stole the keys from Profesor marrón Bigote."

"Uh,  _Bigote_?" Mark parrots stupidly.

Junior nods. "That's how you say mustache in Español- -why are you two giving me that look?"

"What look?" He blinks. Again.  _Aah_. "I- -I just did not expect Spanish from you."

Silence.

The other blinks back. "Is that a subtle way to say that you think I'm stupid?"

"Uh,  _no_!" Mark says quickly. He bits back his tongue to prevent himself to utter something else. But as he turns to Jaebum, he finds him thinking and unlike his friend, he can see some of the thoughts flying in his head. With a sorry look, he smiles at Junior before diverting the conversation to another thing. "Everyone's going to be there?"

"Yes." He senses another  _of course_  coming, but Junior changes the topic again. "Jongin hyung and I can't help you try to bone Jackson hyung today." He's still talking after that, but Mark has disconnected because his brain is frying in its juice.

"Bone.  _Bone?_  I d- -"

"Too much info, dude, ew, ew, eeeew!" Jaebum recoils as if being hit. He looks like he has a visceral ache. He tugs at the straps of his knapsack, frowning deeply at Junior. "Now I have an image stuck in my mind that I will be unable to erase for awhile. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome." Junior grins cheekily. Then, he makes an 'o' with his mouth. Mark watches him take his cellphone out of the pocket of his pants. "It's time to say bye-bye to you, Grumpy." He says, his eyes are glued on the screen. When he puts his cellphone aside and looks back at the two guys, his gaze is on Jaebum. He's giving him an apologetic smile. "Have to steal your bff here for an hour or two. You  _can't_  come with us, uhm."

Jaebum just raises his eyebrow and Mark thinks that like him, he doesn't get the sorry look. "I heard you the first time and, it's cool. It's not like I want to go. I do not want to spend time with any of you." He drawls jokingly. At the end, he shrugs his shoulders. Probably in order to convince the other of what he said.

"You don't?"

"Nope." Jaebum confirms with a half-smile.

"Okay, we can go then." Junior says and it would be a little hazard to assume that he's sounded disappointed because why should Mark's cupid be? (Hey, Jongin himself used this term to describe he and Junior, so he can totally do the same). Without any other words, Junior turns on his heels and then he throws his head back only because he's realised that Mark isn't following him. "Let's go." 

"S-sure," Mark replies. He throws a glance at Jaebum. "Later?"

His best friend nods. "Let me know what the King says."

He and the guy walk for a couple of steps in silence. They're passing in front of all the Junior classes and then they are turning to the stairs that will bring them to the first floor.

Mark hasn't taken his eyes off the back of the guy for the entire time.

He doesn't need to ask if there is something off about Junior- -the answer is obvious. He'd be a non-stopping perpetual talking Junior if there was nothing wrong. He's about to wonder again if the cause of the silence of the other is Jaebum, but then, for the second time, he tells himself that it cannot be. Besides, his best friend did not even say anything unusually bad.

Jaebum can't be the cause of this.

"Are you okay?" He sputters, too curious to bit his tongue and preserve the question for himself.

Junior stops walking and Mark nearly bumps against him, but he manages not to. "What makes you think that I'm not?" He asks, glancing between the hall ahead and then back at Mark. "Everything's fine." He reassumes walking and Mark hesitates a bit before tailing after him.

"It's just that- -you're different. Again." Mark explains because he just can't find a way to let this go. He's able to walk on the same line as the other guy after taking two long strides.

Junior's face is devoid of emotion as he looks right and left.

As he studies Jackson's friend features more and more and keeps on trying to figure out what's happening, the realisation that he's got invited at this group-thing-meal in the gym (that maybe- -no,  _definitely_  since Junior said that they stole the key from a teacher- -breaks one of the rules of the school. _Fantastic_. Mark is praying the Lord that the council won't find out about this or, if they will, that they're committing only a minor violation.  _No, no, they stole the key_. Either way, he'll clarify that he did not partecipate completely in the crime.  _Well_ ,  _it depends actually_. On how much that will help him with Jackson) sinks in his mind.

"Can I at least know how were you guys able to take the key? Did you snatch it from the teacher himself or did you find it somewhere else?"

Junior throws him a side-long glance for a full second. "No and no." He's grinning now, though, and Mark doesn't know what to do with him. He can't understand, _goddammit_.

What if- - _wait, fuck, shit_. What if Junior is like this because Jackson is going to tell Mark that he cannot be part of their group?

"Ask me next week."

Mark blinks, nervousness eating his insides. "Next week?"

But Junior doesn't repeat it. He just keeps the curve on his lips and then he starts whistling.

"What do you mean with that? Junior. Can't I know anything in advance?"

"About what?"

"This supposed meal."

"I told you that I cannot."

"I- -I. C'mon. Please?"

"I'm sorry, but they will cut me into tiny little pieces if I do."

"I won't tell any of them?"

"Nice try."

"But- -"

Junior sneers at him. "Don't." He says, slapping the back of his hand on Mark's chest. "You're like on the edge of a mental breakdown.  _Relax_." He's certainly seen something that he doesn't like in Mark's facial expression because he shoots his eyebrows up. He bites a side of his lips. "Okay. Hey, here's the thing: I really  _can't_  say what will happen there because they're my friends and adding a new member, new friend, that's important to us and- -oh, fuck. Look, cool down and just be honest. And don't bring up boring things about your life when Jackson hyung asks you stuff."

Mark has to let two or three seconds pass before he scratches the back of his ear. He chews on his bottom lip too. "A-ah, so I have to answer questions?"

Junior smiles, toothless. It doesn't reach his eyes. "I told you  _nothing_."

End of their conversation. No more  _spoilers_  for Mark.

They're near the place.

He's never liked the gym of their school.

Don't jump into conclusions, guys. Mark likes sports and even though it doesn't look like he's fit when he has clothes on, he kind of is. He doesn't have muscles, not a six-pack that he can show off or whatever, but his body is not bad. He does go jogging on Sundays when it's not raining and he exercises with Nichkhun sometimes.

The reason why he doesn't like it is because their gym gets cleaned by the janitors only during the weekend. That means that only the students going there on Mondays see it without shoeprints and dirt.

And at this moment, as Mark watches Junior performs a secret knock that he's insisted to do despite voices rumbling inside the building that all he has to do is  _fucking stop being a fucking idiot and_   _blocking the door and just come in_ or Junior will be teared in two, he notes the date of the day because this place can get another why-I-hate-you point if at the end of this meeting his chances to be near to Jackson go back to around zero all over again.

He feels like his brain has only two functioning neurons.

He can depict them: one neuron panicking and running to all of the possible directions in his brain and the other screaming right behind, as panicky as the first.

"Relax." Junior mouths at him before entering the gym.

 _I'm so fucked_.

It smells of worn clothes, shoes, sweat, and Mark has always found the smell of the room unbearing. He doesn't scrunch up his nose in distaste, though.

There are crackers and chips and some sandwiches, two or three bottles of soft drinks and three cartons of juice. They're all placed on three benches that are accosted next to each other.

The guys are all sitting on the floor- -they've what look like two tableclothes under them.  _Good_. There is a free space in between Youngjae and Jongin and one next to Jackson. There is something definitely enchanting about the latter's hair when they are just falling down on his forehead, devoid of gel and cap.

You see, Jackson's like a sexy god, but when he's got this hairstyle? Well, he's Wang the puppiest person in the wold like this.

 _Oh, my god, Mark stop yourself_.

And you guys all know that his biggest desire is to have his crush within an arm or less of his spot, but he gulps when Junior purposely sits between his two friends.

"段宜恩?" And just to fuck more with his brain, Jackson has to call him by his full name.  _With a smile_. Oh. "Why are you- -did I pronounce it wrong? It can't be. I know Chinese too." The love of his life (d _elete_. Oh, fucking shit. It's because he's got only two working neurons that he's referred to Jackson like that. He's not that much of a sap.  _Damn it_ ) is turning for a confirmation to Youngjae on his left who just shakes his head a little.

"I'm Korean, Jackson."

"Uh, it's correct actually." Mark eventually answers after being surprised. He tries to keep in mind the words that Junior told him earlier. It shouldn't be so difficult to have them set on replay since he is thinking about nothing else than them. It should only be like that until the end of this thing because if he expands his interest in Jackson- -get distracted, he can say goodbye to his goal immediately.

But then just a millisecond later, he's thinking that it's going to be hard  _not_  to do it when the corner of Jackson's mouth kicks up as Mark finally settles himself next to him. 

"How do you know that?"

Mortal things like Jackson pulling out a half smile while biting his lips shouldn't be legal. Or they shouldn't be shown in front of Mark. "We took the liberty to ask things to one of your classmates during recess."

 _Does he have to keep doing that with his mouth?_  Because despite Mark's initial purposes, now he's already less concentrated. It doesn't even disturb him nor really affect him what Jackson's revealed. "Uhm- -I- -Okay."

"So, how are you?" Jackson says.

Mark replies immediately. "Fine."

"Tough day?"

"Yes."

"You said that you're fine even though you had a tough day."

"I,  _oh_."

Jackson stares for a second. "Care to elaborate?"

"Uh, yes." Mark groans. Why is he so nervous? God.  _This is not good_. He fumbles for words. "It's been a tough day. I- -"

"Dude. Dude- -" Jackson has a hand on his shoulder and he's shaking him a bit. "- -breathe. I'm not going to eat you. Breathe.  _Normally_ , please." He's once again looking at his friend Youngjae. "I told you I should not do this." Back to Mark, he exhales. "Dude, I'm not usually the starter of these sort of interrogations. It's one of them."

"Good way to excuse your crappy try of setting the right mood, hyung." Junior teases. When Mark turns to him, the latter encourages him with a you-can-make-it look.

He can.

Yes, he can.

_Can I really, though?_

"Catch it!" Jongin shouts, luckily, and a packet of chips is thrown at Mark. The guy smiles with a hand full of cheese curls.

"Thanks."  _C'mon_. Mark gulps.  _Cut this out._

"So, Mark, how's life treating you?" Jongin asks again. He's sincere, though. Not that Jackson wasn't, but Mark gets overwhelmed by him thus he can't know if the other is or not. "Not everything good, right?" Kim Jongin, this person, is like an angel. He's just so nice. He's saving Mark's pathetic ass and the latter will repay him one of these coming days.  _Promise_.

"No, it's not." Mark says to the bag of chips in his hands. "It's not good.." He isn't thinking that chips don't have to hold a conversation with their crushes and their friends' crushes and hope that it will end well and he isn't thinking that chips in general have nothing to worry about except being eaten which is _shit_. His nonsense should be published in a book: he could get money from them.

"And why isn't it  _good_?" It's Junior's voice. He's put emphasis on the last word.

Mark finally _remembers_. "Uh, WuFan called me in his office because of my dyeing my head red and- -"

"Yeah, we heard." Jackson grunts. "That dickhead is so going to visit me tomorrow, isn't he?"

With his heart starting to lose its normal pounding pace because Mark is staring at Jackson and the latter looks like he's uh, sulking. He swallows hard.  _Don't start again_. "He suspects that you're behind this- -that it's a, uhm, thing I did to pass the test. I didn't confirm anything, though."

"You didn't?" Jackson sounds genuinely surprised.

"Uh, no."

"Told you he's a  _good_  kid." Youngjae says, reaching for a carton of orange juice. "You refused to cooperate with him then?"

 _Keep going_.

"More like I refused to be allured by the vacation that he said he'd give me if I told him the truth."

"You do know that the dickhead is going to dice you because of that, right?"

"He said something like going to call me and let me know about my punishment."

Jackson is rolling his eyes. "He's a total douche. Does he have any proof? He doesn't! We're going to protest because you can't be accused of anything if he has nothing to demonstrate his statements. He can't do that just because he's president. Fuck him."

Mark's heart races at the first person plural pronoun. He squeezes the packet of chips. It's time to use his tramp card. "I called him names. Kind of cursed against him.  _That_."

"What?!" Junior is laughing with his mouth full of food. 

"Klutz, you're disgusting." Jongin shoves a napkin at his friend's face. "What exactly did you tell YiFan?" The question is directed at Mark.

"I called him a hypocrite- -"

"Oh my fucking god, yes!" Jackson drops an arm on his shoulder, rubbing his side. Mark may or may have not stilled for a second or two. Or three. Or four. You'll never know, guys. "Last time someone who was not me dared to open the dickhead's eyes about himself, it was our little Daniel." He's patting the back of Mark's head now. "You did good, dude. Now, tell us more about yourself." He says, releasing the other and then he snatches away the chips from him, resulting to Mark playing with his own fingers.

"I don't know what to say."  _Be honest, but not boring_. "I like going out with Jaebum- -we, uh, hang out- -around. In the mall. Not always in the mall. Sometimes we eat pizza, drink bubble tea or we go to Starbucks, eh." He's pretty sure that he's covered the first part of Junior's suggestion. _I am such a fucking boring person, it hurts_. "My brother and I organise a barbecue party once a month." That absolutely doesn't seem to make him more interesting.

"You lucky guy," Junior comments, dividing a sandwich in two. He gives half of it to Youngjae, "the only thing my family and I share every month is a family bonding day that always ends as a let's-talk-about-how-much-terrible-is-Jinyoung-as-a-son-and-as-a-brother."

Jongin snickers. "They're so right."

"Hey!"

"Jaebum is the guy you always have lunch with- -the one Junior likes to torture. That's Jaebum, isn't he?" Jackson questions him, looking through his eyelashes. The view gives Mark the butterflies feeling in his stomach. 

Mark drops his gaze on his lap safely. "Yes, that's him." He responds, forefinger awkwardly scratching the side of his mouth. "He's my best friend- -I've known him for a long time."

"I see." Jackson says thoughtfully. "And what's the craziest thing you've done so far?"

"Ah, that. Well, I tried to climb a tree without using my hands once."

"And did you succeed?"

"Uh, no."

"What about the most dangerous thing you've done?"

"I told professor Kim that his breath stinks."

Youngjae snorts on a laugh. "That counts as the funniest, maybe."

"Professor Kim is 440 pounds and he looks like a pittbull." Mark points out, confused. "Some classmates call him Big Show. Like the wrestler. He  _is_  dangerous."

"Dude." Jackson is laughing and for a moment Mark just stares at him. It's high-pitched, and the guy's biting the inside of his cheek as if to keep himself from smiling so wide. And then his eyes are curving too. The result is Jackson looking  _so so_  cute. "You're adorable, you know?" 

 _What_. Mark feels his face burning.  _Tell that to yourself_. "Oh," he lets out a very timid chuckle, "I, uhm, ah. Really."

"Yes, you're," the other waves his hand, "so shy. You're like Youngjae the first time we met him- -no, kidding. This comrade here is bossy and a jerk, unfortunately."

Youngjae grunts. "Shut your shitty mouth, kid."

"See?" Jackson is purposely leaning his body. "Hobbies?" He's trespassing Mark's space, but that is fine. He can do whatever he wants. Nobody is going to stop him. Mark feels okay now. The proximity- -he can probably handle it at least a bit.

After all this time being ignored, he has never thought (having fantasies and thoughts are two differents things, thank you) that it would come a day when it's Jackson himself who would get close to him.  _And he's being very gentle_.

Mark wonders if he should take this as a sign.

"You there?"

"Yes, oh, I have some." He says vaguely. "I like playing videogames and I like soccer. I listen to music, surf the net. I've watched a lot of films- -it's basically how I spend time when I have nothing to do."

"What kind of videogames, nerd?" Jackson asks friendly.

"Uh, FIFA, Pro evolution soccer, footbal manager- -"

"I get it. And what kind of films?"

Mark is tracing lines on his pants. "Mostly fantasy, action, sci-fi, but I watch other genres too. The first three are my favorite."

"Best movie ever?"

"Uh, it's a battle between Iron Man 3 and The Hobbit. I wouldn't like to choose because I find both epic, but if I must take a decision- -I'll go for Iron Man 3."

There's a small pause in which Jackson hesitates to nod at him. "He's your favorite  _superhero_ , I s'ppose."

"Yeah." Mark answers immediately.

"So," Jackson says, narrowing, "I guess that you've watched the other superhero movies then."

"Yes, I have a fixation with Marvel stuff actually." The words are out of his mouth before he can think about what he's saying. Mark barely holds back an embarassing noise.  _Mother of- -for fuck's sake_. Now, they (Jackson) are going to think that he is a weirdo- -admitting that he's sort of obsessed with superheroes, what the fuck was he thinking of?

This is not cool.

Only kids and losers watch those movies and make research about the characters on internet.  _At least I didn't say this last thing_. The thought doesn't make him feel better. Mark is about to make the big decision to stop with this crazy hobby, but then he thinks that there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

What's wrong is that he revealed this information to people to whom he's supposed to look cool and charming maybe, to be included in their little Jackson&Co little club.

Again, as usual, shit happened because of Mark's inability to stop his mouth from spitting out the worst reply that he can give- -it was starting to go so fine until it screwed everything up.

So, the best decision should be something like Mark and Mark's tongue taking a break from each other.

Like, they're done for awhile.

Mark's never been the greatest talker anyway. It wouldn't be that much of a deal if he limited himself to give signs with his hands and only nod and shake his head. Yeah, that would certainly be able to replace the lack of voice.

 _Sorry, Junior_. He's going to do this for a better cause.

Jackson clears his throat, fortunately (or unfortunately) interrupting the strange turn that Mark's thoughts are taking. "What do you think about the Amazing Spiderman?" He says in a low, cautious tone that reaches Mark's insides again to make a total mess of them.

Now, he can't do the contrary of what he's just established to do.

Not even for Jackson Wang.

"Mm?"

But who's he kidding? 

"I- -"  _Clear your throat_. Mark clears his throat.  _Forgive your mouth, your tongue too_. He does.  _Speak_. "Shit compared to the previous movies. That remake has me glaring at my television for at least 45 minutes. Because, uh, the new actor who played Peter Parker isn't a Peter Parker- -you know, clumsy, lonely, insecure. It shouldn't have been played by a pretty boy, uhm. Yeah." He adores how his sentences are full of very clever monosyllabic words such as uhm, eh, oh and yeah.  _FML_.

Jackson's eyes are inscrutable as he steals food from Youngjae's plate without taking them away from Mark's stare. "Lemme- -okay, no." He takes two bites of the half sandwich that the other hasn't finished yet before his friend takes it back from his hands by force. He's sucking mayonnaise on his fingers (while Mark is  _not_  telling to a fellow down there to cut it out because this is not really the right moment for that kind of reaction). "Hey," Jackson says to him, and  _oh_ , he's giving Mark crescent moon eyes. Then, he's not looking at him anymore, but at the other guys. "He's right. Tobey Maguire was so fucking better than the pinky twink." He agrees  _enthusiastically_.

Mark is this close to pinch himself to make sure that this is reality.

"So, I like him." Jackson utters, thumb pointing at Mark. "Let's keep him."

-

"From someone who had an indoors meal, I was expecting you to refuse." Jaebum is frowning at him. He shifts to a murderous look when Mark grabs another fry. "I really really really hate when you say yes when I offer you food."

"I didn't eat anything." Mark whines when his best friend purposely takes the Coke to keep it far from him. "Share- -don't be like this. I'm a survivor. Almost two intense hours of interrogation." He emits a sigh of appreciation when Jaebum passes him the drink.

"You did it, huh?"

He holds up two fingers in a victory sign. 

His friend's response is a disbelieving shake of his head. "I was 95% sure that you wouldn't make it, man."

"I'm in a mood of celebration. I'll pretend that I didn't hear you." Mark replies, grinning as he drums his fingers on the table. His gaze flickers from the remaining burger and French fries of Jaebum and the queue at the McDonald cashier. "Maybe I should order a Mcmenu too. I'm craving for nuggets and you don't have them." Jaebum is looking at him suspiciously when he meets his eyes again. "Yes?"

"Why are you not, I dunno, dancing the Macarena?" 

Mark raises an eyebrow. "Because we're in public right now." He smiles broadly and he enjoys the horrified expression that falls on Jaebum's face.

"Tell aunt that I'm not going to have dinner with you guys tonight."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Mark is shaking his index and closing his eyes for more dramatic effect, "you can't skip this. You'll have to listen to everything or do I have to remind you that sharing your best friend's feelings is part of our cookie bond?" He likes using Jaebum's exact lines against the guy.

Jaebum grimaces. "I'm regretting being your friend."

"That's always been a mutual feeling." The other retorts. "God, I can't wait to tell you how much of a  _sweetheart_  is Jackson and do you know that he's a Batman fan?"

"Who the fuck cares that you two are geeks." Jaebum breathes out.

-

Mark is prepared to get another earful from the members of his family after they question him if he received complaints from the school. It's futile to lie to them so he's ready to say yes, but Jaebum talks before him,

"They made very sarcastic comments. Most of the grannies did not like the color, but I saw nobody telling him that he couldn't keep his hair like that."

Jaebum's ability to mantain a calm composure as he feeds people with bullshit is incredible- -Mark hasn't known about this. He's pretty sure that his friend had kept his undeniably amazing lying techniques close to perfection hidden from him until today.

Now, he's starting to wonder if everything that Jaebum's told him is true because he's a  _pro_  at lies.

Mark'd feel guilty to let Jaebum splutter half-true statements- -because Jaebum is aware that he got called in the president of the student body's office, but he didn't see it. That wasn't a complete lie- -if it's not for the fact that there's not a thing in the world, or in the universe that could spoil Mark's moment of glory.

Not even Laura accusing him of having stolen his mascara and declaring that she avenged it by taking another of his precious CDs. And a poster. 

"How did you do that?" Mark asks, throwing a joystick in Jaebum's direction. The guy catches it without any problem. 

Jaebum shrugs, but he's got this smug look on his face. "Oh, you know, some people were born with certain abilities."

"How can you be proud of yourself because you can lie oh so good, though." Mark comments teasingly. He takes a tube of Pringles and opens it. "You've never been that smooth, JB. I'd known you as the shitty liar. That was unbelievable. You're not only stupid, man. I'm impressed."

"You really know how to thank your friends after they do something for you, don't you?"

"Touché."

It's in between losing a match of Mario Kart and hysterical laughs because he tries to distract his friend by tossing everything in proximity that his hand is able to reach that he starts narrating how fantastic it is to be a member of the, 

"Fuckin'- -I don't want to know about the Glee club, okay?"

"Glee?" Mark furrows his eyebrows. "What's a Glee?"

Jaebum's car guided by Yoshi gets off the road by it's not like he cares. Mark's best friend is practically holding his stomach while he rolls on the carpet and he doesn't even mind when he knocks off the junk food and he makes a mess, claiming that he isn't the slightest bit interested at cleaning it because it's  _not_  his room and because he's too busy imagining Jackson Wang & fellows performing Single Ladies.

"I don't want to know what is Glee, do I?"

"I don't really watch it. Just came across one video on Youtube- -anyway, I can tell you, but no regrets."

"I rather not."

"But how come you don't know what's Glee, dude? Seriously? Like, you've been to America- -"

"It's an American thing? It's not. I've never heard about it."

"You suck." Jaebum has stopped trying to re-create the disaster in his bedroom in Mark's. He has disappointment written all over his features. "You're 37% American- -since you've studied there and you keep coming back and I wish I speak English like you, but you do not know any Am-teleseries. You're hooked with this whole thing about people in costumes with powers and movies with monsters and aliens, but you do not know anything about Supernatural.  _Be ashamed of yourself_."

And those are pretty much the last coherent things that Jaebum's said for the rest of the night before he declares that he should leave- -never underestimate Mark's capability of talking about something great that happened and someone great that he likes for hours.

(Mark could talk about Jackson forever).

-

No cereals?

It's fine. Mark can have a slice or two of bread for breakfast.

No milk?

He can try having juice. Or a glass of water. Maybe he'll go for this last one. A person's body loses water while you sleep thus you're naturally thirsty when you wake up in the morning. Plus, there's another factor: water helps you flush out the toxins that you've accumulated inside you during the night.

Laura is being a bitch and his mother reproaches him for calling her that?

It is not his fault that his sister isn't his favorite sibling and it is not either hers the fact that she feels the same about him. About his mom, she's right. Never encourage your son to use foul language in your house- -ignoring the usage of such a word even for one time can lead to another similar situation, so try to put a stop to it as fast as you can. Always.

He can feel Nichkhun and his daddy's stares lingering on his head when he's not looking at them. He's actually caught the two eyeing him before they quickly avert their looks somewhere else when they realise that they've been caught. Should this bother him?

Probably yes, and he admits that despite his new motto, 'Optimism is the best way to see life'- - to which Jaebum laughed yesterday, saying that he sounded like his Granpa. Mark did not take it as an offense because the elder is fantastic, so _in your face_ , _Jaebum_ \- -there is something inside him that wants him to snap at the two, but he is able to just sort of wave a hand absently at the feeling, digging on his food and trying his best to think of what's waiting for him at school when he can feel his patience being threatened everytime his dad and his brother's gazes press on his figure.

Later, he's even able to tell himself that this is something quite nice since they're not saying anything about his red hair. They're staring a little sometimes. It is better like this.

Mark should appreciate their behavior.

And you know what?

He does and it is one of the best decisions he's ever made because when he walks out of his house at 7.25 am, a time of the day in which Lim Jaebum is still sleeping, he's never been so happy and he's never felt so free at an early hour.

 

_Losers are going back to the place where they belong. Sleepyhead._

 

He can start to understand Laura's obsessive need to revenge- -it gives you a wonderful feeling at the beginning and he thinks it's safe to say that it can only get better later after Jaebum reads the text.

-

Junior and Jongin are unexpectedly at the gates.

They're probably waiting for Jackson is his first thought, but the guy is rare to show up at this time slash it's almost impossible for him to arrive more than half an hour before the bells ring.

"Klutz, your uniform has a hole."

"Where did this come from?"

"It's yours. If you don't know, how do you expect me to?"

"Because you're Jongin, the know-it-all."

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Idiot."

"I'm serious."

"Give me at least one hour more- -I'm not ready and I don't want to deal with you. Not yet."

Mark can see Junior mimicking the other guy's very bored expression at him. "Live a little, Jongin hyung. You're always moody. You'll get wrinkles all over your face _next year_ if you don't stop making those expressions."

"You make me moody." Jongin deadpans, then, as he's probably seen someone approaching him with his peripheral vision, he rotates his head at his left. Mark is getting used to being welcomed with smiles by him. "Good morning."

He grins, showing his teeth. "Morning to you, Jongin." And when he looks at Junior and finds the latter beaming at him, lips curving ear to ear as well, he greets him too immediately. "I suppose that you two are here because you've woken up both eager to learn today." It's lame, he knows that.

Junior rubs the side of his ear. "What was that, Mark?" He shouts, squinting one eye and leaning the side of his face to Mark. "Because that was worse than Jongin hyung's, 'I was going to make a joke, _butt_ fuck it'."

"Jinyoung." Jongin warns. Then he groans. "Why are you like this?" He's covering his face with the palm of his hand. Glaring through the space in between his fingers, he pokes his friend on the ribs with the free forefinger. "You're such a bastard."

"Woah." Junior is widening his eyes, mouth open in a happy surprise. "Mark Tuan, this is a Kim Jongin, who slept only for four hours, being a vulgar kid in front of a school building."

The mentioned guy drops his hand down. He rolls his eyes. "For the sake of clarity, I find necessary to emphasize that I was drunk when I said that." He explains, and Mark chuckles silently because this is hilarious. He has no idea if this is really the effect that lack of rest does to Jongin, but he likes it.

A part of him also notices that the conversation between them three is easy.

It was like that even before- - _well_ , maybe if we leave out that thing about Junior getting angry at him and bla bla, but now, be it because maybe the two guys find it more comfortable to talk to him now that he's one of them or because it's just Mark feeling totally better, it's nicer.

"Oh, my gosh, what did my ears hear?" Junior exclaims, feigning stupor this time. He puts a hand dramatically on his chest. "Big words coming out of your mouth. I'm _astonished_."

Jongin gives him a look while Mark can't contain himself anymore and bursts out laughing. "You don't even know what astonished means. _Please_."

Junior's face falls after that comment. "Watch out, we have a sassy princess over here." He says, devoid of any trace of the previous facial expression. "I would really like to know why people always assume that I don't know things. I'm _smart_ , you know."

"Is that what you say to your mom when she sees your grades?" Jongin says with a smirk, face held up in a superior manner. "I dare you to tell Mark your grades, sweetypie."

The other glares pointedly at him. "Fuck you are my grades."

"That escalated quickly." Mark mumbles, cutting out abruptly his laughter. For a moment he asks himself if he should, like, intervene, but then he looks carefully at Junior and he finds him simply grimacing. He's still keeping the opinion that Jongin who hasn't slept enough is very interesting.

Jongin folds his arms on his chest, then unfolds them a second later. He's patting the back of Junior's head in a consoling way as he tells Mark,

"We're here to show you our _basement_."

The latter blinks. "Basement?"

"That's what I said, right?" Jongin is turning around to face the school. He's tucked his arm around Junior, dragging him with him with his every movement. When he begins walking inside the school area in the direction of the entrance of the building, Mark follows him, instantly fastening his pace so that he can be next to the two. "Was the parroting because you can't believe that we're bringing you there or because you seriously don't know?" He asks with a small mocking smile. "It is a little difficult to imagine that the second thing is the reason, though. I mean- -you've been _eyeing_ Jackson for so long and you're telling me that you don't know anything about it? Hard to believe."

 _And non-intentionally mean too_. Mark is quickly starting to wish that Jongin could take a nap and be back to being that guy he's known so far with never-ending words of comfort for others. _Eyeing_. It's like saying that he's a stalker who he is not (you and Mark had already clarified this before. Go look for it, if this is still not clear to you, guys, that Mark Tuan is nobody's stalker).

"I didn't know." He opts to say in the end, hoping that a shrug can cover the sudden awkwardness that he's feeling.

"I see." Jongin replies right afterwards with a nod. "It's on the third floor. Have you ever heard about those rooms that are left un-used after the incredible grasshoppers infestation of two years ago?"

Mark furrows his eyebrows. "Of course, I do." A pause. "Is one of you behind that as well?"

Both guys turn to look at him.

_What did I say wrong?_

Then, they shake their heads at him, the two of them plastering similar pleased looks on their faces.

"You're giving us too much credit." Junior is finally talking again. He slaps the other's hand away from him, grinning cruelly when Jongin sends him an offended frown and proceeds on settling himself to Mark's left, resulting to Mark being in the middle of Jongin and him. "We're not _that_ bad. We messed up a bit- -"

"Jackson said there was a worms _incident_ and someone walked naked in the president's office." Mark presses on it because the other's making it sound like it is not a big deal, but he can clearly recall the pissed off voice of the head of the school announcing that lessons were suspended. The cause: aggravating behavior coming from an non-identified student.

"Fine, more than a bit." Junior corrects himself. At the red hair's still not contended look at the simple addition in his phrase, he tries again. " _A lot_. Are you happy now? Anyway, about the grasshoppers, we're out of that. We did not do anything. But if you want to put up a monument after the impressive mind who put itchy powder in the teachers' seats- -" He raises his hand. "- -you know to whom you have to dedicate it."

"Jinyoung."

Mark's eyes become big as soucers. "People in my class said it was Jackson."

"Then tell them that it was not him." Junior prompts with meeting eyebrows. "I don't work in order for other people to steal my spotlight. What the- - _hell!_ " He shrieks in pain when Jongin pulls his nose all of a sudden. "Are you fucking out of your mind? Go to sleep if you have to be so fucking annoying about everything. What- -"

"We're supposed to accompany Mark in the basement." Jongin drawls and then he cuts Mark's way and forces him to halt when he towers over Junior, showing his back to Mark. "That's what Jackson said." He only says, and then after more or less than a minute he positions himself to the other side of Junior, smiling shyly at Mark who flicks his gaze to him and to Junior that's muttering something under his breath while he keeps his eyes down on the floor, and then Mark wonders what the fuck happened.

It takes Junior a couple of steps to have his bright and lively mood back and for Jongin to join the conversation.

 _Really?_ Mark is confused. He questions them once about it, only to receive a dismissive answer from Jongin.

The guy tells him that it's nothing. "Jinyoung had an eyelash on his cheek. Had to remove it."

 _Right_.

And Mark was born yesterday.

He lets the topic dorp and he actually doesn't think about it anymore for the sole reason that they're at the third floor now and they're going straight to those rooms Jongin's described before. His mind starts picturing what the _basement_ might look like.

Trying not to set up his expectations too high because he remembers visiting them with Jaebum once or twice and they were in a really bad condition- -they were full of boxes and other materials that the janitors did not throw out, but they should have done- -he depicts a room quite cleaned, though. (He actually doubts any of the members of the group likes to keep things tidy and clean. Mark doesn't either. The reason is because they're teenagers. Most of them don't like. They like little or a lot of stuff around. You know, just because it's hard to put _everything_ back in place).

Maybe they have chairs and desks inside it- -maybe they stole some of them from other classes.

Jongin and Junior throw knowing looks at each other as they stop in front of a door. It is all written with what seems like permanent ink and it is definitely old, but it's green unlike the doors of the classrooms of the students which are white.

It means that it was a laboratory. _I can't remember for what subject_. "So this is it." Mark says, and he can't wait to see it.

"Jackson likes to call it the _Batcave_."

He's always thought that his crush's adorable. C'mon. You think that too, right?

"Aw, it's cute how you become so happy just at the mention of something about hyung."

Mark is the last to go and it is on purpose. He has a smile painted on his face that..

..vanishes instantly.

"Is- -" He glowers at the boxes and the various things that are scattered here and there, leaving only a space between the door and the _stuff_ that can't be occupied by more than three guys.

A lot of, uhm, stuff can't even be used for _this_ because it's more than that.

It's fuck-what-fuck-is-fuck-fuck-fuck stuff because there are just too much and they're piled in a disorderly manner next to each other. Wait. _Piled?_ No. There's no logic in how they're _amassed_.

Someone would find it fascinating, the way all those objects are put together and they're not falling down to their bodies. Now, that Mark's had this thought, he asks himself if he should step back or not because he's not really sure that they won't slump on them and bury them alive in a moment or another.

"- -are you fucking with me?" He breathes out faintly in the end.

"Why?" Junior asks, and he closes the door before admiring proudly the stuff (Mark doesn't know how to call the big amount of things. He has no idea really. They're a lot and they're here, up- - _how tall is this giant of boxes and all the shit, anyway?_ It almost reaches the floor and he hasn't said this yet, but it's quite dark here. While he knows that it's a beautiful day outisde. Fuck. He's aware that there's a possibility that he might die). "Cool, huh?"

Mark makes a face. "That's not really how I'd call it."

"Don't you think it's a form of art?"

 _What_. "What."

"The arrangement of the desks on three chairs and that- -that big old table supporting the weight of- - one, two, three, four, five, six other desks and big containers! The boxes thrown there, there and there. Small containers from the ex-biology lab. And what about those three metal storage cabinets behind the table and everything else that cover the windows and don't extacly allow us to see a lot and make us feel a little claustrophobic?" Junior says in one intake of breath. It's admirable, except that Mark isn't giving him too much attention right now. "Picasso would have liked this if he was alive."

"There's a chance I'll meet him." Mark mumbles back.

Junior tips his head back at his comment. He's going into a spams of laughter and at some point, he starts coughing too and when he looks for something to lean on while he rubs his stomach, of course it isn't either Mark nor Jongin he goes to. The guy has to hold the leg of one of the unstable chairs.

He seems not to see the incredulous way Mark is staring at him. The latter is left utterly speechless because he just doesn't want to lose his life now that he can be nearer to Jackson and knows him better. Trust his luck to put an end to him at this time.

"You're making too much noise, Klutz." Jongin chides, but he's finding this funny as well. It's written in the twitching corners of his lips. He's standing behind Mark, so close that he can feel the warmth of Jongin's body. "This is really the Batcave."

Mark is so disappointed. "Yeah?"

"Well, maybe not this- -" Jongin says, and there's a finger indicating the objects before them. "- -but behind all of them. We just wanted to see what expression would you have made if you were presented this. You did not let us down." He takes a step and he himself comes closer to that mess. He turns his gaze to Mark as he leans down to take a huge carton box in his hands. "Junior definitely liked your reaction." And Mark would be insulted if not for the comeback of the other's genuine boyish smile and mostly because right then, Jongin removes the box.

Nothing falls, surprisingly, but Mark's sense of self-preservation equally makes him take a long step back.

There's light coming from the space left by the box.

He watches Jongin squat down, and then he's crawling to pass through that gap to reach the other part, Mark thinks. The _behind them all_ part.

_Oh, my fucking life._

He stays eyeing it, wondering if nothing bad will happen if he decides to do the same.

In the meanwhile, Junior has regained composure. He's wiping the corners of his eyes. His mouth is still trembling and smiling maniacally, but he's talking. "You first or- -"

"I'll go." Mark says, because for fuck's sake he's not going to be the last. He'd coward for sure. "I, uhm, yeah, first." He imitates what Jongin did, but before risking, he bites the inside of his cheek, hesitating. "Say, it's not going to- -"

"Nah." Junior responds, not even letting him finish. "Probably." He adds when Mark has half of his body in.

 _Fucking asshole_. But he doesn't obviously stop. He goes faster, knees trying to bring him to the seemingly safe other side. It's a quite short uh, tunnel, but Mark is careful not to bump any part of his body with anything. As soon as his head is free from the dangerous and scary, Mark's eyes nearly drop out of their sockets at the view.

A two sided double-table is at the center of the big free space. New blue chairs are around it. He recognises that they're the same ones in the conference room of the student body (Mark's been there before, but just to deliver some papers. Don't doubt him. He's said that he's a great student, remember?). There are three laptops on it. There are three normal desks against both of the walls, right and left. On the right, there are what look like a dozens or more of mangas and other magazines, while on the desks on the left there's a coffee machine and there are cups and glasses.

Jongin is currently drinking and only now Mark registers the smell. He was too busy scanning the room.

Oh, and it's clean.

 _Have they hired a maid to keep it like this?_ Like, the floor doesn't have a dirt on it.

"Like what you see?" The dark-skin guy is yawning. Then, he sips his coffee.

Mark nods eagerly. "Did Jackson do this?" He sputters out. _Since it's the Batcave_.

Jongin raises an eyebrow at him.

It's Junior who answers, though. "I understand that you like Jackie hyung, but aren't you going a little too far? Not all the fantastic things in life were made by him, you know- -" There's a hand pulling Mark's ankle. "- -aren't you going to move?" His first instinct is to kick, but then he notes that the guy's voice is coming from behind him and when he looks down, he realises that hey, more than half of his body is impeding Junior to go through the tunnel (yes, right. It is not really that, but can you find a better term to call it? If you do, email Mark. _Note the sarcasm, please_ ).

"Sorry." Mark stutters, embarassed. "I just- -I'm really sorry."

Now standing on his feet, he looks at his surroundings. _Holy shit_. "How did you- -?" He asks, pointing randomly around him.

"Let's specify first that we contribuited in the making of this." Jongin teases, but he's sporting again one of what Mark's beginning to think is like the guy's trademark: his big and kind smiles. The drink is waking him up a little more. He somewhat looks like he feels better. _Not un-intentionally mean, anymore, hopefully_. "We made the _chaos_ \- -"

"Excuse me? _We_?" Junior goes to sit on a blue chair. "You mean, _I_. I made the chaos. You were all eating."

Jongin looks up at the ceiling with a sigh. "Someone is being overly demanding attention and recognition today." He says slowly. " _Junior_ made the chaos." Ha makes a circling motion with his hand. "The boxes and all the shit you've just seen. But before that, the guys and I cleaned everything and then we brought these things. Two of the laptops are YoungJae's and the other is Daniel's. You can use YoungJae's when you want. They're all connected to the school's WiFi."

"Oh?" Mark is surprised. "You know the password?"

"Yes," Junior chirps, "This hyung has some useful connections." He shares with a teasing grin. "It's a short combination of capital letters and numbers. We'll tell you later."

Jongin makes a half eye-roll at being interrupted. "Anyway, what was I saying?" He pushes his lips, thoughtful, before snapping his fingers just when Mark's about to tell him that they were talking about their secret basement. "There are a couple of rules, and unless you want the other three to get pissed at you, you 1) don't ever show other people where this place is, 2) don't touch Daniel's laptop if you don't have the guy's permission to touch his shit 3) you're free to come here wherever you want, but stay sure that nobody's following you."

"Remember especially rule number two, okay?" Junior tells him seriously. "You don't want to have to deal with Daniel hyung's tantrums." He warns. Standing up to make a cup of coffee for himself, he twists his half body around so that he can keep talking while looking at Mark. "I'm not joking: the guy's crazy about his things. We'll make 'it's forbidden to touch Daniel's shit' rule number one one day."

"Yeah." Jongin confirms and if he does that, Mark's pretty certain that it must be really true. "Don't do it, alright?"

"No problem."

"Great!" Junior exclaims enthusiastically, eyes crinkling. He's finished drinking. "Do we know what time is it? If there are a spare of minutes left, I think Mark should really look at those mangas."

Mark blinks. "I don't re- -"

"Oh, but I think you _should_." The other insists. "They're not that bad. They are stories about basketball- -you know, Kuroko no Basuke? Then there are classics like Naruto and Death Note, One Piece and Bleach." He is giving Mark a smirk now. "There's also _Marvel crap_. Hey, _wait_ , have I already mentioned that they are Jackson's?"

-

Since he's told not to reveal anything about the Batcave to anyone, all Mark can do after arriving ten minutes late in class and then getting berated by his Science teacher, is to respond at Jaebum's questioning stare at him as he settles down in the vacant chair next to his friend's with a small shrug.

He mouths, "Bathroom." But besides being a shitty liar, friendship goes two ways, and sometimes it takes Jaebum only a look and Mark is already scrubbing a hand over his face because he knows he's already got caught. He has no idea why he can't just choose when he wants the other to figure him out with just a simple move like that and when not.

The teacher is writing on the blackboard.

Jaebum _psst-s_ at him.

"What were you doing with your rucksack in the bathroom?"

Oh, shit. "I didn't want to leave it because there was nobody." Mark lies.

The other frowns. "Who the fuck would steal your rucksack, man? Plus, you've never problematised about that before." He whispers back, pointing the eraser that he's holding at Mark. "What's up?"

Mark resists the urge to pull his hair. He's now having a little debate on what he should say. He doesn't like keeping things from Jaebum because it makes him feel guilty somewhat. Hell, they don't hide anything from each other. They're like brothers. On the other hand, he also won't like if he spits the secret because he said that he wouldn't do it.

"It's complicated." He murmurs, looking at his desk. "I saw something, but I can't tell you." He adds vaguely, guiding his eyes up to catch a glimpse of his best friend's expression.

Jaebum is simply watching him.

" _Psst._ " He says again after some seconds.

Mark turns his head. "Mm?"

"Is the _something_ about the Wang boy?" Jaebum asks, grinning madly. "Did you- -I don't know. Did he make your cherry _pop_ with his, uhm, _pop_ sicle in the bathroom?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always welcome and very appreciated. Thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are highly appreciated. They're what keep me motivated to keep writing, after all. Thanks!


End file.
